142
P. Lana eta!.
ment of Parana State concentrated on the highlands ("primeiro planalto")
of the Serra do Mar and even today industry and agriculture in the coastal
plain are not well developed. The region's high biodiversity and some of
the last, well-preserved remnants of the Atlantic Forest, extensive mangrove swamps, sand dunes ("restingas") and tidal flats might stimulate
ecological tourism in coming years. However, some traditional practices,
such as game hunting, exploitation of the heart-of-palm tree (Euterpe edulis), fisheries, slash-and-burn agriculture, and wood extraction are sources
of conflict and impact (Andriguetto-Filho 1993; Andriguetto-Filho et al.
1998).
Fisheries are essentially artisanal and represent the principal activity in
more than 50 fishing communities around Paranagua Bay (Rougeulle 1993;
Andriguetto-Filho 1998). Fishery landings follow a seasonal pattern, with
mullets in winter and catfish and sciaenids throughout the year, though
more frequent in summer. Some local fish stocks are clearly overexploited.
Commercial bottom trawl and seine fisheries over the adjacent coastal
shelf may be partially responsible for a decline of their landings (Andriguetto-Filho 1993). Despite evidence of the overexploitation of shrimp
stocks and the mangrove crab Ucides cordatus and an overall decline in
their landings, the shrimps Penaeus schmitti, P. paulensis, P. brasiliensis
and Xiphopenaeus kroyeri still represent the most important artisanal
fisheries in the region. Other resources, such as oysters ( Crassostrea spp.),
mussels (Mytella guyanensis, Perna perna), the pointed Venus (Anomalocardia brasiliana) and blue crabs ( Callinectes spp.) are underestimated
and their stocks are underexploited.
During the last three decades other environmental problems have
emerged. Deforestation has increased sediment loads to the bay (Andriguetto-Filho 1993) and activities in Paranagua harbor require dredging of
the main access channel and the disposal of sediments. The population
growth (200 inhabitants km- 2 ) along the southern margin of the bay, with
Paranagua City (120,000 inhabitants) as the major urban and economic
center, has caused problems of domestic sewage disposal, increased metal
levels in sediments and water, and stimulated the construction of marinas
along the bay shores. Although federal, state and county laws legally protect natural resources of the coastal zone, including Paranagua Bay with at
least ten conservation units (Cubbage et al. 1995), and several plans for
local land use have been established or proposed, they are not implemented. The failure of management to efficiently address local problems is
partly due to the absence of detailed ecological knowledge, a centralized,
bureaucratic model of natural resource management, lack of involvement
by populations which are directly affected by the natural resources to be
managed, and limited material and human resources.
P. Lana eta!.
ment of Parana State concentrated on the highlands ("primeiro planalto")
of the Serra do Mar and even today industry and agriculture in the coastal
plain are not well developed. The region's high biodiversity and some of
the last, well-preserved remnants of the Atlantic Forest, extensive mangrove swamps, sand dunes ("restingas") and tidal flats might stimulate
ecological tourism in coming years. However, some traditional practices,
such as game hunting, exploitation of the heart-of-palm tree (Euterpe edulis), fisheries, slash-and-burn agriculture, and wood extraction are sources
of conflict and impact (Andriguetto-Filho 1993; Andriguetto-Filho et al.
1998).
Fisheries are essentially artisanal and represent the principal activity in
more than 50 fishing communities around Paranagua Bay (Rougeulle 1993;
Andriguetto-Filho 1998). Fishery landings follow a seasonal pattern, with
mullets in winter and catfish and sciaenids throughout the year, though
more frequent in summer. Some local fish stocks are clearly overexploited.
Commercial bottom trawl and seine fisheries over the adjacent coastal
shelf may be partially responsible for a decline of their landings (Andriguetto-Filho 1993). Despite evidence of the overexploitation of shrimp
stocks and the mangrove crab Ucides cordatus and an overall decline in
their landings, the shrimps Penaeus schmitti, P. paulensis, P. brasiliensis
and Xiphopenaeus kroyeri still represent the most important artisanal
fisheries in the region. Other resources, such as oysters ( Crassostrea spp.),
mussels (Mytella guyanensis, Perna perna), the pointed Venus (Anomalocardia brasiliana) and blue crabs ( Callinectes spp.) are underestimated
and their stocks are underexploited.
During the last three decades other environmental problems have
emerged. Deforestation has increased sediment loads to the bay (Andriguetto-Filho 1993) and activities in Paranagua harbor require dredging of
the main access channel and the disposal of sediments. The population
growth (200 inhabitants km- 2 ) along the southern margin of the bay, with
Paranagua City (120,000 inhabitants) as the major urban and economic
center, has caused problems of domestic sewage disposal, increased metal
levels in sediments and water, and stimulated the construction of marinas
along the bay shores. Although federal, state and county laws legally protect natural resources of the coastal zone, including Paranagua Bay with at
least ten conservation units (Cubbage et al. 1995), and several plans for
local land use have been established or proposed, they are not implemented. The failure of management to efficiently address local problems is
partly due to the absence of detailed ecological knowledge, a centralized,
bureaucratic model of natural resource management, lack of involvement
by populations which are directly affected by the natural resources to be
managed, and limited material and human resources.