Small-Scale Fisheries and Common Property Resource Management: the Case of the Mullet Fishery in Paraná State, Brazil Catarina

Abstract

The beach seine, with mullet as its main target, is one of the oldest fishery practices in Paraná, Brazil.This article focuses on the common property management of this fishery, with emphasis on the causesof its decline, as perceived by the fishermen themselves. The approach was ethnoecological, employingdirect observation, experienced learning and semi-structured interviews with 13 local experts. They didnot consider that the practice leads to over-exploitation of the resource, but showed a sense of conservationbased on economic considerations. A conservationist mentality emerged more recently as a result of theempirical realization of reduced fish abundance. The introduction of new, more productive and profitablefishing techniques contributed to changes in the regimes of access to resources (mainly characterizedby disregard for the informal rules of usage). A breakdown of values fostered competition, leading toan increase in fishing effort, adoption of individual practices, use of gears considered predatory, andfishing in prohibited areas and periods. That, in turn, resulted in the decline of the activity. The particularcharacteristics of the beach seine, namely, a group practice that fosters the development of social tiesand important values to the sense of community, such as collectivity, collaboration, respect for socialnorms, sharing and re-union, must be incorporated into the agenda of management agencies. Doing sorequires the participation of users in the management process, which would also allow due considerationof the history of this practice and the projection of scenarios that older fishermen can do, based on theirexperiences and the deep social-environmental changes to which they were submitted. The knowledgeof beliefs, feelings and behaviors of different generations of fishermen regarding nature is a necessarycondition for the management and sustainability of the activity.