Apaiari fishing, Astronotus ocellatus (Agassiz, 1831), and socioeconomic profile of artisanal fishermen in a region of the Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

The artisanal fishery is an important economic and subsistence activity among traditional populations in the Amazon Region. Therefore, the aim of this study was to characterize the fishery of apaiari, Astronotus ocellatus (Agassiz, 1831), and to present a socioeconomic profile of artisanal fishermen in the region lakes of Pracuúba, Amapá, Brazil. From May to August 2011 interviews were conducted using standardized forms with fishermen selected by "snowball" method and aged above 18 years old. A total of 68 fishing workers were interviewed, of which 55 were men and 13 women. It was possible to observe that fishing workers have a wide knowledge of fishery in the Region, including apaiari fishery, and that social and economic lives of the Pracuúba population depend totally of the artisanal fishery.