The harvesting process and fisheries production of the venus clam Anomalocardia flexuosa in a Brazilian extractive reserve, with implications for gender-sensitive management

Abstract

Resource managers are increasingly concerned regarding the sustainability of the small-scale fishery of the venus clam Anomalocardia flexuosa, a key livelihood resource extracted by Brazilian traditional coastal communities in the intertidal or shallow subtidal of mangrove estuaries. To inform the co-management process in an Extractive Reserve in North Eastern Brazil, a twelve month participant observation was conducted, and a semi-structured questionnaire issued (2015, n = 63 shellfisher interviewees from the Acaú community; Extractive Reserve Acaú-Goiana, Paraíba state). The shellfishers provided information on their gender, age, the number of shellfish (i.e. venus clams) collection days per week, the biomass collected, the preferred tide for collection (neap versus spring, ebb versus flood), the clam collection technique used and the different steps involved in the harvesting process. A total of 85.7% of the interviewees were females and 73.01% of all interviewees younger than 51 years. The number of days worked per week varied according to wind, rainfall, type of tide and local demand. The shellfish collection process comprised six steps: collection (per hand, handle rake, or with a dipnet), relocation, sorting/grading, loading, shelling and the final step of discarding shell waste, meat packaging and commercialization. Women (and the elderly) preferred the manual or handle rake collection technique, whilst men used the more efficient dipnet, which requires significant physical force but provides higher yields and thus financial return. Hand collection is the only method avoiding bycatch since the catch is scanned with fingers whilst ‘fishing’, allowing to identify and discard unwanted species and under-sized specimens on-site. In 2015, the community of Acaú alone collected an estimated 5,430 tons of A. flexuosa, 80% more than that extracted by all six communities of the Acaú-Goiana Extractive Reserve in 2005. Our research revealed and is informing the Governing Council of the Extractive Reserve, about the fundamental role of women in the production chain, not only for the collection of the clams, but also for their processing (shelling, meat extraction, packaging of the meat) and commercialization. Consideration of gender-specific roles, techniques, capacities and needs, as well as a stock assessment will be key to ensure ecologically, economically and socially meaningful strategies for sustainable venus clam fisheries co-management, in line with the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals.