Productive chain of artisanal mollusk fishing and the role of fisherwomen

Resumo

Artisanal mollusk fishing is an activity developed in several countries around the world. In Brazil, bivalves appear as one of the most attractive mollusk fisheries. Fisherwomen play important roles in fishing, being sometimes made invisible, making it necessary for them to be valued and included in the management process. The aim of this study was to describe the productive chain of artisanal mollusk fishing, highlighting the role of fisherwomen activity. The research was carried out in the beneficiary people communities of the protected area from Acaú-Goiana Extractive Reserve, located in the Northeast of Brazil, in the period of 2017 and 2018. For this purpose, methods of observation of activities and unstructured interviews were used with 47 fisherwomen of Anomalocardia flexuosa, Mytella guyanensis, and Crassostrea rhizophorae; these being the main mollusk-bivalves caught by them. In general, there fishermen residing in communities located on the beach catch only one type of species, while those near the mangroves have more flexibility in capturing more types of species. The frequency of fisheries is related to fishing economic dependence and accumulation of other domestic and home activities. Strategies of fishing, processing, and sale are directly influenced by the financial return for fisherwomen. The middlemen’s activities also play roles in the acutance of commerce. Shells reuse may be an important resource for increased commerce and fishery management. Ecological fishery knowledge and practices carried out by the fisherwomen must be valued, and used mainly in the construction of local regulations for fishing and protected areas management.