Importância do conhecimento ecológico tradicional na gestão da pesca artesanal no estuário da Lagoa dos Patos, extremo sul do Brasil

Abstract

For more than a century, the Lagoa dos Patos estuary has become an important small-scale fishery in the south of Brazil. In the last twenty years, the environmental system of small-scale fishery has collapsed, with harmful reflexes on the region’s social, economic, and ecological macro elements. There was a break in the local management system at the beginning of this period. This break can be illustrated by some changes which were identified in the fishery environmental system in the Lagoa dos Patos estuary, such as the arrival of a net in the shape of a little sack, a considerable increase in the number of fishermen, changes in the fishery legal regulations, and an increase in the otter trawl fishery due to a significant decrease in the resources. However, the main standpoint of these changes regarding the use of resources is the centralized process of management. Thus, it is necessary to implement local plans for fishery management which take into consideration all actors and interests, mainly those belonging to traditional communities that depend exclusively on the resource. Therefore, the Traditional Ecological Knowledge found in the communities of small-scale fishery must be prioritized; it comprises the set of information, interests and values – regarding the relation between the local community and the environment it is part of – which is transmitted to new generations of fishermen, but usually disregarded by natural sciences. Informal interviews were made with the fishermen; the analysis of secondary data found out that their Traditional Ecological Knowledge includes preservation principles which are fundamental to the sustainability of small-scale fishery. It is also very important to assess the current fishery management in the Lagoa dos Patos estuary; it must be taken into account to re-structure present regulations, such as new ways to manage the resources. Key words: Traditional Ecological Knowledge; Small-scale Fishery; Lagoa dos Patos Estuary; Fishery Co-management.