Artisanal fisheries in the city of Penha (SC): a rereading of socioeconomic context of the activity and the sector adaptive capacity

Abstract

Artisanal fisheries are insert in the context of thousands of communities around the world, contributing to the eradication of poverty, community development and the sustainable use of natural resources. In Brazil, it is estimated that more than one million people are directly involved in fishing activity, mostly in artisanal fisheries. There are, however, many challenges to the industry, including the efficiency of public policies and a broad understanding of local realities. Therefore,  socioeconomic aspects of the artisanal fisheries was evaluated in Penha, Santa Catarina state, to understand how fishermen responded to changes in activity in recent years and which were the strategies adopted to them in mentioned situation. For this, the main modality of fishing in the municipality, its actors, their relations, limitations and conflicts were characterized. Data were obtained through semi-structured interviews, informal conversations and observations, using principles of participatory research and action research, as well as secondary data and bibliographic research. The results show that artisanal fishing is part of the city daily life, although significant changes have been occurring in the productive processes over the years. There have been indications that fishermen adapt to changes and have maintained fishing as an important source of income in the city, including an increase in their own earnings. Some changes in the profile of the fisherman in recent years have been noted, as well as a renewal, by workers who have migrated from industrial fishing. Going against several studies on artisanal fishing in Brazil, the activity has been maintained in the city, presenting indicators of growth both in number of vessels and fishermen, as well as in production and income. It is necessary, however, to establish a monitoring of artisanal fishing, allowing a broader analysis of the socioeconomic and environmental context, because the scarcity of some data harms the formulation of public policies and consequently the development of the sector.