**2. Marine artisanal fisheries and fishermen in northeastern Brazil**

### **2.1. Artisanal fishing**

Fishing was an activity practiced by indigenous peoples prior to the arrival of the Portuguese. In the colonial period, European fishing practices were combined with native fishing practices, giving rise to different coastal cultures, such as the "*jangadeiros*" in the northeastern region, the "*caiçaras*" on the coast of the states of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo in the southeastern region and the "*açorianos*" on the coast of the states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul in the southern region [17].

In the 1960s, the Brazilian government implanted fishing industries mainly on the centralsouthern coast, which reached a peak in the 1970s, followed by a severe crisis the next decade, when the majority of these industries shut down [17]. In this period, industrial fisheries accounted for 64.5% of Brazilian fishery production [18]. However, this situation changed over the years. In 2006, artisanal fisheries accounted for 65.2% of the fishery production in the country and industrial fisheries accounted for 34.8% [19]. In northeastern Brazil, artisanal fisheries alone accounted for 96.3% of fishery production in the region in 2007 [12].

According to Brazilian Law n° 11959 issued on June 29th, 2009, artisanal fishing is defined as "any fishing activity practiced directly by a professional fisher in a self-employed fashion or in a familial economic regimen, using one's own means of production or landing through a partnership contract, which may involve the use of small watercraft" [20]. However, this definition does not consider the historic, social and cultural context of each community. Artisanal fishing goes beyond a mere work activity and constitutes a way of life corresponding to social aspects that follow a behavioral pattern in traditional communities [21].

communities in northeastern Brazil (**Figure 1**) that can compromise the continuity and

sustainability of marine artisanal fishing.

90 Sustainable Urbanization

**2.1. Artisanal fishing**

in the southern region [17].

**Figure 1.** Map of the Brazil showing northeast region and sites described in the text.

**2. Marine artisanal fisheries and fishermen in northeastern Brazil**

Fishing was an activity practiced by indigenous peoples prior to the arrival of the Portuguese. In the colonial period, European fishing practices were combined with native fishing practices, giving rise to different coastal cultures, such as the "*jangadeiros*" in the northeastern region, the "*caiçaras*" on the coast of the states of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo in the southeastern region and the "*açorianos*" on the coast of the states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul

In the 1960s, the Brazilian government implanted fishing industries mainly on the centralsouthern coast, which reached a peak in the 1970s, followed by a severe crisis the next decade, when the majority of these industries shut down [17]. In this period, industrial fisheries accounted for 64.5% of Brazilian fishery production [18]. However, this situation changed over the years. In 2006, artisanal fisheries accounted for 65.2% of the fishery production in the country and industrial fisheries accounted for 34.8% [19]. In northeastern Brazil, artisanal

According to Brazilian Law n° 11959 issued on June 29th, 2009, artisanal fishing is defined as "any fishing activity practiced directly by a professional fisher in a self-employed fashion or in a familial economic regimen, using one's own means of production or landing through a partnership contract, which may involve the use of small watercraft" [20]. However, this definition does not consider the historic, social and cultural context of each community.

fisheries alone accounted for 96.3% of fishery production in the region in 2007 [12].

The artisanal fleet in the northeastern region is mainly comprised of sailboats (70.9%) due to the low production and maintenance costs as well as adaptation to the climate of the region, which has strong winds throughout nearly the entire year. Fishing operations are conducted in shallow waters near the coast and estuaries. However, motorboats account for the largest portion of fishery production (60.4%) due mainly to the greater autonomy, which allows longer fishing trips and consequently greater production [16].

Fishermen use a gamut of methods for exploiting the aquatic environment, as different species are targeted using a variety of technologies, which reflect local knowledge on the different environments in which these individuals live [22]. The gear is crafted artisanally using both local raw materials and industrial equipment, such as hooks and nylon nets [18, 23]. The type of fishing may be active (when the boat or gear is in motion) or passive (when the gear remains still throughout the duration of the practice) [16].

The main fishing gears used to catch fishes are gillnets, handlines and traps. Three types of gillnets are used: (1) a purse seine that encircles the school at the subsurface of the water; (2) a set gillnet, which is used to capture fish on the bottom or in the middle of the water column; and (3) a flying fish net, used to capture flying fish on the surface, which is only found in the state of Rio Grande do Norte. These fisheries occur in areas of shallow depths near the coast and involve trips of 0.5 to eight days. For fisheries targeting flying fish, however, distances of up to 35 miles and depths of approximately 1000 m have been recorded [16, 24].

Three types of handlines are used: (1) a bottom line with one to five hooks, weight and length adjustable to the depth, which can be as much as 250 m, with operations conducted 20 miles from the coast; (2) a surface line, on which secondary lines with hooks are attached to the main line above the fishing grounds; and (3) "corso" or "corrisco", which is similar to a surface line, but generally two lines (each with a one hook) are dragged as the boat moves across the water. This gear has the longest duration on the open ocean, with trips lasting 0.5 to 22 days and operations conducted 35 miles from the coast at depths as much as 1000 m [16, 24].

The use of a semi-fixed bottom trap has only been recorded in the state of Pernambuco. This type of trap has a hexagonal shape. It has a wood frame and is lined with mesh. The entrance is in the shape of a funnel. The fish enter the trap and cannot get out. This type of fishery is restricted to areas near the coast with a maximum depth of 80 m [16, 24].

Among all fishing gear, the handline accounts for the greatest fishery production due to the greater number and size of the catches. During the accompaniment of landings at 79 locations in seven states of northeastern Brazil between 1991 and 2001, handline operations accounted for 34.6% of the total production, followed by gillnets (27.3%) and trawl nets (10.8%) [16]. At landings in 16 locations in six states of the northeastern region between 1998 and 2000, 170 species from 52 families were identified, among which 149 species from 44 families were bony fishes and 21 species from eight families were cartilaginous fishes. The following are the main species targets in the different fisheries: *Seriola dumerili* (12.9%), *Mycteroperca bonaci* (11.6%) and *Lutjanus jocu* (7.4%) in bottom line operations; *Coryphaena hippurus* (10.3%), *Scomberomorus* *cavalla* (9.9%) and *Thunnus albacares* (3.1%) in surface line and "corrisco" operations; *Opistho‐ nema oglinum* (23.1%), *Scomberomorus brasiliensis* (14.1%) and *Euthynnus alleteratus* (6.3%) in mid-water gillnet operations; *Carangoides bartholomaei* (5.6%), *Ocyurus chrysurus* (5.3%) and *Rhizoprionodon porosus* (5.3%) in bottom net operations; *Hemiramphus brasiliensis* (78.2%) and *Hyporhampus unifasciatus* (21.1%) in set gillnet operations; only *Hirundichthys affinis* in flying fish net operations; and *Pseudupeneus maculatus* in trap operations (45.6%) [24].

Corral fishing has also been recorded in the region, which involves a fixed trap made of stakes and wire similar to a fence, which imprisons fishes inside until their removal at low tide. These traps are deployed in regions where the continental shelf is wide and has a low incline. This practice is mainly found in the states of Ceará (91.1%) and Pernambuco (8.0%). In the state of Maranhão, only 10% of fishery production comes from corral fishing due to the high cost and need for constant maintenance. Fifty-seven species distributed among 26 families and 13 orders have been recorded, among which 22 species have commercial value in the region, such as *Scomberomorus brasiliensis, Centropomus parallelus, Cynoscion acoupa, Mugil curema* and *Megalops atlanticus* [16, 25].

The trawl net is bottom gear for catching shrimp that has structures, denominated otter boards, to maintain the net open. *Farfantepenaeus brasiliensis, Penaeus schmitti* and *Xiphopenaeus kroyeri* are the main species targeted in such operations [16]. The use of this gear is restricted to the mouths of important rivers due to the occurrence of reefs throughout nearly the entire coastal region [18], which impede trawling. The state of Alagoas accounted for the largest production of shrimp in the region between 1991 and 2001, followed by the states of Ceará and Sergipe [16].

Lobster fishing is performed over bottoms with calcareous algae on the continental shelf using three catch methods: (1) traps (locally denominated "covo" or "manzuá"), very similar to the fish traps employed in the state of Pernambuco, at depths of 10 to 40 m; this was the first method developed for catching lobster, but is currently little used due to its low degree of productivity; (2) dive fishing, in which the fisher dives with an air tank, catching lobsters in an active fashion; and (3) a gillnet made with multi-filament nylon 0.3 to 0.4 mm in diameter, buoys on the upper section and lead sinkers on the lower section at depths of 20 to 70 m [16]. Despite the fact that dive fishing and gillnet fishing are widely employed in the northeastern region, Brazilian law n 11.959 issued on June 29th, 2009 [20] prohibits these practices, which are considered predatory methods. In one community in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, 53.2% of the interviewees caught lobster using a gillnet, 20.6% performed dive fishing and only 9.5% deployed traps [21]. The same has been found in a community in the state of Ceará [26], demonstrating that illegal lobster fishing practices continue to be employed in the region due to the greater yields leading to overexploitation and unsustainability of this fishing.

The state of Ceará was the largest national lobster producer between 1991 and 2001, followed by the state of Rio Grande do Norte, with *Panulirus argus* and *Panulirus laevicauda* the main species targeted [16]. In recent decades, lobster stocks have suffered from overfishing due to the large number of vessels, illegal catch methods and catches of juveniles smaller than the permitted size [26]. Thus, this type of fishery has a defense period in the breeding season (December to May), when lobster fishing is prohibited by Law n 11959/2009 [20] and Norma‐ tive Instructions n 138/2006 [27] and 206/2008 [28], with the fishing, transportation and sales of catches from illegal fishing practices considered an environmental crime (Law n 9605, Art. 34) [29].

The aforementioned characteristics of artisanal fisheries have been found in many locations of northeastern Brazil, such as one community in Pernambuco studied by the authors since 2006, one community in Rio Grande do Norte [30], two communities in Alagoas [31–32] as well as communities in the states of Bahia [21, 33] and Ceará [23, 26]. This demonstrates that, regardless of the location of the fishing community, the fishery characteristics in the northeastern region of the country are very similar, with no considerable operational differences. The variety of fishing gear and methods reflect the diversity of living resources found in different habitats as well as different types of bottoms and the currents that affect the region. This results in various multispecies fishing resources, which is the main characteristic of artisanal fisheries in the region.
