Socio-Environmental Problems and Artisan Fishing in Northeast Brazil

Abstract

The small-scale fi sheries in Brazil is concentrated in the North and Northeast (72.4% of fi shermen). The aim of the research was to understand and compare the social and environmental problems of small-scale fi shers in their historical context in two regions of the state of Pernambuco, the fi rst on the coast and the second in the middle region of San Francisco. The research used different literature sources, open interviews and documentary sources to analyze the experiences of riverside communities in different areas of the Northeast of Brazil. The two locations, fi shermen reported here are particularly affected by new economic development projects that are refl ected mainly in reducing the quantity of fi sh and the fi shing practice. Some fi shermen have moved to other fi shing areas and there was also an increase in the number of fi shermen that are simultaneously performing other activities for additional income or have migrated to other productive activities. In both study areas, have examples of traditional communities who try to perpetuate their culture amid all the rapid changes that have reachedsuch regions. This research attempts to draw attention to the existence of several agents of transformation and changes in the social life of these communities and what consequences these changes have brought.