Pescadores artesanais de camarão-da-amazônia, macrobachium amazonicum (Heller,1862) do município de Cametá, Pará, Brasil.

Abstract

This study seeks to characterize the fishermen who fish for Amazonian shrimp. located in the Municipality of Cametá, Pará and the survey of their perceptions about the state of fishing resources in the area, Data were collected in the period from October 18 to 21, 2011, from the application of 36 questionnaires. With regard to social aspects, issues such as: place of birth, age structure, level of education, number of dependents and the infrastructural characteristics of the residences are addressed. Within the scope of the productive structure, relations of production, frequency of fishing and types of , vessel. Analyzes related to commercialization are also presented. organization social security, credit and technical assistance. Finally, the fishermen are evaluated regarding the reduction or increase in shrimp production in the studied municipality and its possible causes. It was observed that most fishermen (91.7%) belonged to the municipality where they carried out their activity, fishing was mainly practiced by men (83.3%), with an average age of 30 years and | or 2 children on average; the level of education was low and 100% had fish fishing and plant extraction as another activity. As for the time working in fishing, the majority of 27.8% had between 11 and 20 years of experience in the activity. Most fishermen (58.3%) fished only during the harvest period, used matapi as their main gear and the vessels used were small, measuring from 2.5 to 7 meters. The marketed product rarely goes through a processing process (11.1%), and most of the time (66.7%) is sold by the interviewed H himself, with the majority (55.6%) selling the product directly at the fair free or in the central market. The price varies, being cheaper in the harvest period, compared to the off-season. The existence of social organizations in the municipality was observed, with the participation of a large part of the fishermen, although this participation is not done continuously. As for access to credit lines, it was observed that 88.9% of fishermen did not obtain access to official resources in the last five years. However, the current perceptions among the interviewees were that Amazonian shrimp stocks were in decline, which justifies carrying out studies to subsidize their management.