Artisanal fishing and fishermen of Ilhabela - São Paulo State - Brazil

Abstract

This work was developed in Ilhabela, northern coast of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The objective was to characterize artisanal fisheries in fishing communities of Jabaquara Beach, Serraria Beach, Fome Beach and Bonete Beach. Fishing methods, strategies and equipment used by fishers, as well as, local forms of marketing and exploited fishery resources are approached in this study. The data were collected through interviews using semi-structured questionnaires. Information such as general aspects of fishing, socio-economic data, time of fishing, technology and fishing strategies in use was obtained. This research included 20 fishermen from Serraria beach, six from Jabaquara beach, 10 from Fome beach and 18 from Bonete Beach, totaling 54 interviews. In general, the artisanal fishery is still the main economic activity; however, the fishers develop other activities, such as those related to tourism. Forty five fishing points were cited. The main gear used by fishers in the fishing points, along with fishing techniques are the "rede de espera†(set gillnet) and the main type of vessel is the "bateraâ€Â. The ichthyofauna was characterized with 76 identified species belonging to 65 genera and 38 biological families. The aspects related to fishing activities are part of the knowledge of fishermen on the environment and constitute a comprehensive collection of information that, together with biological information, can be useful to deepen the knowledge of fish ecology and management of local fisheries resources. The information available from this study is important as a baseline to allow temporal comparison of the fishing and fish in this region.