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| TRADITIONAL SEA TENURE AND COASTAL FISHERIES RESOURCES MANAGEMENTS BRAZIL |
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Reference |
| Diegues, Antonio Carlos. 1994. "Traditional Sea Tenure and Coastal Fisheries Resources Management in Brazil." Presented at "Inequality and the Commons," the third annual conference of the International Association for the Study of Common Property (revised version), Washington, DC, September 17-20, 1992. Link: http://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu/archive/00002621/ |
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Introduction to the Institution |
| Traditional management by artisanal fisheries is closely linked to coastal (lagoons, estuaries, mangrove, etc.) and sea tenures. Sea tenure regulates the access of fishermen to coastal/sea spaces. Traditional management is a set of customary regulations that regulates fishing itself, i.e. the amount and type of fish to be caught aiming to conserve the reproduction of natural resources and the fishermen's communities. It is based on a deep knowledge of the physical and biological characteristics of habitats and living resources. There are no written laws but oral regulations that are transmitted from generation to generation. Example of sea tenure and traditional management schemes in the Brazilian coast is Caicara. |
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Rules for Management
of the Institution |
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(a) Boundary Rules |
| Spacial Boundaries: "Caicaras" are mainly used by the fishermen of Mundau-Manguaba lagoons in the state of Alagoas.Social Boundaries: Access to the newly created habitat and its resources is determined by the law of respect (lei do respeito). |
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(b) Governance
rules |
| The "mestres" have consolidated control over premium waterspace. This tenure system is supported by cooperative ethics rooted in the notion of "respeito" (respect), a code of personal conduct requiring honor and deference." Respeito" is a cognitive reference point linked to the community's collective conscience. It influences how fishermen evaluate each other's action both on and off the fishing grounds. Fishermen reputation rise and fall in terms of "respeito". Access to others can also be granted by the "mestre" in the context of godparenthood (compadrio), networks, rituals and obligations. When an outsider fisherman wants to fish in the estuary he usually takes along a crew member who has a local godfather (compadre) or friend. |
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(c) Resource Allocation |
| Names are given by the "mestres" who exercise exclusive rights and priorities over these tiny lunar-tide fishing spaces. The "mestres" give names for the traditional casting spots "pesqueiros" that are micro-environmental units for fishing. They are subdivided for a particular fishing technique into "lancos" (castings) or minimal waterspace as determined by fort-nightly current changes, daily tide-level changes, light conditions during different phases of the moon, bottom conditions, etc. Fishing rights and property exist as spatial points in the context of the lunar calender. |
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Conflict Resolution Mechanism |
| One captain deferring to another in a situation of potential conflict over a fishing claim upholds "respeito" and sets up a debt of gratitude to be paid at a later date. Failure to honor this type of reciprocity and related personal commitments can be much more devastating for a fisherman than breaking a law |
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Problems Faced by Institution |
| The brush-parks of Alagoas State, however, are now suffering from the overall degradation of the Mundau-Manguaba lagoons. Tons of wastes from sugar-cane alchohol production are being thrown in the lagoons. The urbanization of the state capital, Maceio, is also responsible for the overall degradation of the estuarine area and contributes to the disorganization of the fishermen communities. Artisanal fisheries face today strong competition from the so-called modern fisheries and from the destructive use of the coast. Local fisheries are being flooded with large industrial boats using inappropriate gear. |
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Changes in the Institution over time |
| Not mentioned |
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Other Features of Institution |
| Caicara is an artificial habitat, a brush-park built with mangrove poles making a circle or a rectangle. Inside it the artisanal fishermen lay branches. Fish species find a new habitat and a feeding place in the "caicara". Local fishermen utilize these habitats in a wise way, using appropriate nets that catch only adult fish. This kind of fishing a type of shallow-water purse-seining in which an eight-man crew works in six-to ten-meter canoes. Purse seining is well adapted to the intricate tidal changes along Bahia's estuaries and creeks that wind back into the mangrove swamps. "Lunar tide reckoning coordinates all fishing activity |
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Purpose |
| COASTAL FISHERIES RESOURCES MANAGEMENT |
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Country |
| Brazil |
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Region |
| Mundau-Manguaba lagoons in the state of Alagoas |
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Date Of Publication |
| RS-1994 |
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