Abstract
This work was carried out in two small fishing communities, Barra de Mamanguape and Tramataia, Northeastern Brazil. The aim was to study these traditional fishermen's knowledge and perception about tide and wind classifications, as well as their fishing strategies and techniques. Our research methodology involved various techniques: free interviews and semi-structured ones, guided tours and direct observations. The results obtained show the fishermen's classification of the tides according to the phases of the moon: 'breaking tide', 'flushing tide', 'dead tide' and 'big tide' designated technically these last as neap tide and spring tide, respectively. Wind is also an essential factor for the fishermen to make successful catches, and they classify it according to direction: North, South, East, Southeast, Southwest, Northeast and Northwest. The data show that fishermen's knowledge can also be useful in devising plans for management and conservation studies for this estuary.
Highlights
Within the context of the relation society-nature, in the universe of fishermen it is possible to encounter evidence of mechanisms of a natural and cultural order, which can guarantee the reproduction of their social, historical, economic and culturalthe climatic factors that most directly intervene in fishing activity are the winds and the periodicity of the tides
Afonso (2006) reports that the Guarani Indians, nowadays located on the Brazilian coast, know the relation between the lunar phases and the tides, and when they generally go fishing, whether in the river or in the sea, they already know which species of fish will be abundant according to the period of the year and the moon phase
This corresponds to tidal cycles, which have a strong relationship with fish feeding and other behaviors, and are sometimes one of the factors regulating fishing activities
Summary
Within the context of the relation society-nature, in the universe of fishermen it is possible to encounter evidence of mechanisms of a natural and cultural order, which can guarantee the reproduction of their social, historical, economic and culturalthe climatic factors that most directly intervene in fishing activity are the winds and the periodicity of the tides. According to Kuparinen et al (2009), lunar cycles are commonly believed to affect fishery catches through changes in the behavior and movements of fishes, to affect feeding, vertical distribution and catchability of several marine and freshwater fishes These meteorological elements constitute two fundamental occurrences in the functioning of fishing strategies, playing primary limiting roles, given that, depending on their intensity, they can impede fishing activity and modify fishing plans in short, medium and long terms (Allut 2000). This same author states that only meticulous knowledge on the dynamics of meteorological factors and the aspects related to fishing allows fishermen to have a degree of response to their environment, enabling them, to a certain extent, to make forecasts. The indigenous, since long ago, have perceived that hunting, gathering, fishing and agricultural activities depend on to seasonal fluctuation, and they have sought to unveil the fascinating mechanisms that govern these cosmic processes in order to use them in favor of the survival of their communities (Afonso 2006)
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