This study addresses social, economic, organizational, and environmental issues involving
artisanal fishermen and women from PAE Aritapera, located in Santarém, Pará. The activity
of artisanal fishing has been developed by humanity since the beginning, being considered as
the most important source of protein in families living on the banks of rivers in the Amazon
basin. Furthermore, this activity plays a significant role in the economic, social,
environmental, and cultural dynamics in the lives of families who depend on fishing resources
for their survival in floodplain communities. The relationship between people and the natural
resources existing within this territory contributes to the formation of the identity and way of
life of these populations. Given this reality, this thesis aimed to analyze the traditional
ecological knowledge of fishermen and women regarding the use and management of natural
resources and the conservation of the floodplain ecosystem in Santarém, Pará. The specific
objectives were: a) to analyze the practices of environmental conservation transmitted from
the traditional ecological knowledge of fishermen, in light of scientific literature; b) to
analyze the process of implementing the land regularization policy, pointing out the socioenvironmental advances and obstacles of agroextractive settlements in the floodplain region
of the municipality of Santarém, Pará; c) to identify the different forms of existing social
organization, as well as their contribution to actions for the sustainable use of natural
resources in the communities studied; d) to investigate how traditional ecological knowledge
is transmitted between fishermen and fisherwomen in the family environment, with an
emphasis on the use, management, and conservation of natural resources in the floodplain; e)
to identify the social and political organization networks of fishermen and fisherwomen in the
PAE Aritapera communities and; f) to describe the dynamics used by fishermen during the
high and low tide periods. Field data were collected between May 2022 and May 2023, with
the target audience consisting of 106 artisanal fishermen residing in the following
communities: Costa do Aritapera, Água Preta, Carapanatuba, and Centro do Aritapera, located
in the Agroextractivist Settlement Project (PAE) Aritapera in Santarém, Pará. The results
revealed that fishermen have extensive traditional ecological knowledge about the natural
resources existing in their communities, especially fishing grounds. This knowledge has
contributed to the development of local strategies for ecosystem conservation in the
floodplain region. Furthermore, this category builds and is part of networks of social and
political organizations that help them achieve the implementation of public policies for their
territory, as well as contribute to the planning, management, and conservation of natural
resources, especially fishing. within the communities of this agroextractivist settlement.
Among the actions resulting from this knowledge, community agreements are constructed and
agreed upon within community and inter-community meetings. Traditional ecological
knowledge is full of symbolism and a sense of belonging, preserved throughout its histories
and practices in artisanal fishing that enable the contemplation of the territory and the entire
cultural environment, ingrained in the way of life of this category through fishing in the
communities studied. This fishermen contributes to the (re)construction of public policies that
value this knowledge so that they are appropriate for the Amazon floodplain region.
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