Characterization socio-economic of the artisanal fishing of the sea-bob shrimp in Porto Belo, SC

Abstract

The artisanal fishing for the sea-bob shrimp (Xiphopenaeus kroyeri) has been practiced on the Santa Catarina coast since 1960, always using the method of motorized dragnet with rings, where it generates jobs and income, and helps keep the traditional Azorean cultural tradition alive. The socio-economic characteristics of the artisanal fishing were conducted by semi-structured interviews, with 31 surveys applied to fishermen from July 2010 to June 2011. The interviewees were between 28 and 63 years old, married (80.6%), with incomplete elementary scholarity (61.3%); around 65.0% had been working in the activity for more than 30 years. They use own boats (93.5%), with length of 7.0-11.5 m, cabin (83.9%), Yanmar 18 HP motor (61.3%), nets of 11.0-15.4 m (90.3%) and mesh size of 3-4 mm (58.1%). They fish over a wide territory, from São Francisco do Sul to Florianópolis. The normal time of work is between 10-14 hours day^-1, 4-6 days week^-1 (80.6%), 6-8 months year^-1, at depths of 2-33 m. The minimum capture of shrimp is between 0.5-10.0 kg day^-1 and the maximum is 230 a 1,200 kg day^-1, giving a gross monthly income of 1-2 minimum salaries (67.7%).