The panorama of artisanal fisheries of the Araguaia River, Brazil

Abstract

Seasonal changes in composition and yield of artisanal fishery catches may occur due to natural fluctuations in hydrological regime, fishers, and gear used. In this context, the present study aimed to test the hypothesis that the hydrological cycle of the Araguaia River influences the activity of small-scale commercial fishing by examining the following predictions: fishery yield is influenced by the hydrological regime; the main species exploited through artisanal fishing can change with variations in hydrological regime; and there are differences between male and female fishers in both yield and main exploited species due to differences in the sites that they explore and the gear that they use. Results from the study demonstrated a significantly higher fishery yield during the low-water season, when the catch per unit effort (CPUE) was 24.8 kg/fisher/day, compared to an ebb season CPUE of 19.9 kg/fisher/day. The main species caught by artisanal fisheries was indeed influenced by the hydrological regime of the Araguaia River and the fisher’s gender, which was associated with differences in fishing locations and gear used. These findings suggest that both Araguaia River hydrology and fisher gender should be taken into consideration in developing management strategies for achieving sustainable yields. Of note, our results for fishery yields were 305 % higher than official Brazilian estimates for the entire Araguaia basin over the same period, which suggests underestimation in the official statistics.