685
Parnaíba Delta and the surrounding mangrove forest (BIOMADE 2015). Pickers
that have captured the crabs outside the closed period are obligated to report their
yields before commercialization (BIOMADE 2015). However, current and descriptive landing stats are not available for comparison because management plans for
the “MPA-Delta do Parnaíba” have never been drawn and issued, and therefore
there was no concern in producing accurate data for fishery management until collapse was too close to be avoided. In addition, whereas the Parnaíba Delta consist of
five estuaries, it is not possible to know from which system a fishery resource is
coming without previous genetic research establishes traits of sub-populations.
For the São Francisco Estuary the problem is more difficult to equate and solve.
Whereas the estuarine portion of river represents the smallest portion of a long river
basin, most ecological studies and lists of species are focused on freshwater fishes
and fisheries. Since 2007, efforts aiming to renew fish stocks in the river basin
includes a closed period from November to March, but only for riverine fishes. This
measure, known as “Piracema”, is a period of summer rains in which fishes move
downstream and upstream to relocate and reproduce (IBAMA 2007). Therefore, the
importance of the estuarine system for fishes that depends on different habitats to
complete their life cycles has been neglected so far. Less importance was given to
the estuarine fishery resources, and previous data on fishery productivity for the
estuarine and coastal regions of the São Francisco River are rare. Only recently, in
2009, monitoring and surveillance was intensified in the Lower São Francisco River.
The operation aims at guaranteeing the enforcement of closed periods and prohibit
the use of illegal fishing gears. For some fisheries resources, such as sharks, rays,
jacks, anchovies and sand crab, there is no closed period. However, captures of mullets, snooks, mojarras and the freshwater shrimp are prohibited from November to
February, while for the white and the Atlantic sea bob shrimps the closed periods are
from April and December.
Whereas the Santa Catarina state is the most important industrial marineextractive fishery producer in the country, representing more than 22% of the total
national production, data on artisanal fisheries in estuaries has also been neglected
(Andrade 1998; MPA 2011). There is no ecological study on estuarine fish assemblages in the Laguna Estuarine Complex, and little concern developed over invertebrate resources (Sunye et al. 2014). Although the fishing activity have prominence,
there is no information about the volume and diversity of caught species once there
is no fisheries monitoring plan. The latest information on industrial fishing date
back to 2012 (UNIVALI/CTTMar 2013), and brings very general data, with no
information on the artisanal fisheries landings. This is a tragic scenario due to the
observed exponential increase in the fishing effort and the possibility of collapse for
some commercial species.
Fixed fyke nets (“aviãozinho”) were introduced to Laguna in 1970, and the
exploitation of pink shrimps increased, reaching 5000 active fishers in the early
1980s (Fig. 20.19g, h). The over-exploitation reduced the stocks and the number of
fishers decreased to 2500 at the end of the 1990s. The low selectivity of “aviãozinho” is responsible for high levels of bycatch in the region. This gear captures
almost the same biomass of pink shrimp and crabs, and ~700 g of commercially
20 How Can Accurate Landing Stats Help in Designing Better Fisheries…
Parnaíba Delta and the surrounding mangrove forest (BIOMADE 2015). Pickers
that have captured the crabs outside the closed period are obligated to report their
yields before commercialization (BIOMADE 2015). However, current and descriptive landing stats are not available for comparison because management plans for
the “MPA-Delta do Parnaíba” have never been drawn and issued, and therefore
there was no concern in producing accurate data for fishery management until collapse was too close to be avoided. In addition, whereas the Parnaíba Delta consist of
five estuaries, it is not possible to know from which system a fishery resource is
coming without previous genetic research establishes traits of sub-populations.
For the São Francisco Estuary the problem is more difficult to equate and solve.
Whereas the estuarine portion of river represents the smallest portion of a long river
basin, most ecological studies and lists of species are focused on freshwater fishes
and fisheries. Since 2007, efforts aiming to renew fish stocks in the river basin
includes a closed period from November to March, but only for riverine fishes. This
measure, known as “Piracema”, is a period of summer rains in which fishes move
downstream and upstream to relocate and reproduce (IBAMA 2007). Therefore, the
importance of the estuarine system for fishes that depends on different habitats to
complete their life cycles has been neglected so far. Less importance was given to
the estuarine fishery resources, and previous data on fishery productivity for the
estuarine and coastal regions of the São Francisco River are rare. Only recently, in
2009, monitoring and surveillance was intensified in the Lower São Francisco River.
The operation aims at guaranteeing the enforcement of closed periods and prohibit
the use of illegal fishing gears. For some fisheries resources, such as sharks, rays,
jacks, anchovies and sand crab, there is no closed period. However, captures of mullets, snooks, mojarras and the freshwater shrimp are prohibited from November to
February, while for the white and the Atlantic sea bob shrimps the closed periods are
from April and December.
Whereas the Santa Catarina state is the most important industrial marineextractive fishery producer in the country, representing more than 22% of the total
national production, data on artisanal fisheries in estuaries has also been neglected
(Andrade 1998; MPA 2011). There is no ecological study on estuarine fish assemblages in the Laguna Estuarine Complex, and little concern developed over invertebrate resources (Sunye et al. 2014). Although the fishing activity have prominence,
there is no information about the volume and diversity of caught species once there
is no fisheries monitoring plan. The latest information on industrial fishing date
back to 2012 (UNIVALI/CTTMar 2013), and brings very general data, with no
information on the artisanal fisheries landings. This is a tragic scenario due to the
observed exponential increase in the fishing effort and the possibility of collapse for
some commercial species.
Fixed fyke nets (“aviãozinho”) were introduced to Laguna in 1970, and the
exploitation of pink shrimps increased, reaching 5000 active fishers in the early
1980s (Fig. 20.19g, h). The over-exploitation reduced the stocks and the number of
fishers decreased to 2500 at the end of the 1990s. The low selectivity of “aviãozinho” is responsible for high levels of bycatch in the region. This gear captures
almost the same biomass of pink shrimp and crabs, and ~700 g of commercially
20 How Can Accurate Landing Stats Help in Designing Better Fisheries…