Mollusc Gathering in Northeast Brazil: An Ethnoecological Approach

Abstract

Mangrove estuarineareas often support an abundance of mollusc species that are largely sessile in nature and constitute an important in situ fishery (Hamilton and Snedaker, 1984; Macintosh, 1982; Macnae, 1974; Matthes and Kapetsky, 1988). Edible species of oysters, mussels, cockles, and gastropods are collected extensively for local consumption, usually by the families of local fishermen (R?nnb?ck, 1999). Prehistoric deposits of shells, skeletons, and refuse on the Brazilian coast near estuaries, known as sambaquis (Gaspar, 2000), demonstrate the early use of molluscs by human populations. In Brazil shellfish catching (mariscagem) is a largely extractive component of fishing activities con centrated at the periphery of many towns close to estuaries where there is cheap and abundant labor, and the ready availability of the resource (Ostini and Poli, 1990). In the face of the need to develop environmental conservation strate gies suited to the socioeconomic and ecological reality of extractive human activity in mangroves of the State of Paraiba, Northeast Brazil, the present study describes techniques and strategies the gatherers use when collecting molluscs and evaluates their efficiency and productivity. We expect that the results will be useful in the formulation of management plans and proposals for the normative regulation of mollusc gathering, permitting a sustainable