The state of Maranhão (Brazil) has considerable fishery potential. However, its
fisheries have been excluded from governmental and scientific priorities. Considering the
existing lack of knowledge, the aim of the present study was to carry out a survey on past and
present available data regarding fisheries in Maranhão, addressing the state of the art;
characterization of fishing vessels and gear; and analyzing yield, commercial value and
socioeconomic status of the social actors involved. From this portrait, it was possible to
delimit the existence of 21 units, heretofore denominated Fishery Production Systems, by
means of a process of successive subdivisions of the fishery activity according to the
following factors: fleet; practice or fishing gear; resources exploited; environment; residence,
work relations and income of the fishermen; and degree of isolation of the fishing area. For
such, questionnaires were administrated to different social actors and fieldwork was carried
out. The systems were characterized according to economic, social, technological, ecological
and management aspects, revealing a broad variety of practices and fleets that predominantly
operate in coastal environments, with small vessels and simple gear, catching different target
species, especially from the families Scianidae and Aridae. The socioeconomic status of the
fishermen is of poverty and abandonment, with a low degree of social organization and low
income level as well as precarious housing conditions, low levels of schooling and limited
access to healthcare. The market and legislation have provided open access to resources and
predatory practices, thereby compromising fishery resources, which are exploited without any
concern for sustainability. This demonstrates the insufficiency of management actions. The
Rapfish method was employed in an attempt to detect indicators for estimating the state of
“health” of the systems, using a set of attributes grouped in five categories: ecology,
economy, social aspects, technology and management. The results revealed the following as
good indicators: social organization; number of fishermen exploiting the system; level of
schooling; use of destructive gear; governmental and traditional management measures. Work
relations and income were good criteria for differentiating three tendencies in the goals of the
fisheries: subsistence, intermediate and semi-industrial. Some systems stood out a being less
sustainable, such as the blue crab collecting, which has declined due to a lack of management,
deficient social organization and the commercialization of ovate females; the lobster fishing,
which use gear considered destructive. The system involving crabs other than the blue crab is
characterized by the existence of traditional management measures and a better management
of the resources on the part of government agencies. Thus, the present study allowed the use
of a reference system for the analysis and monitoring of the sustainability of regional
fisheries, using scientific and/or ethno-knowledge that led to the emergence of management
proposals aimed at the fishery management, social organization and environmental education.
A case study was also carried out on the production system using mid-sized vessels in the
gillnet fishery targeting Cynoscion acoupa in order to give details on one of the production
systems. This choice was based on the large catch volumes, large extension of the area of
operations throughout the entire coast of the state of Maranhão and the large number of
fishermen involved, representing a significant source of income for the state. The case study
paid particular attention to the traditional knowledge of the population regarding the use and
maintenance of the resource, complemented by studies on the fishery and reproductive
biology of Cynoscion acoupa caught in the region of the São Marcos Bay and surrounding
areas. Acoupa weakfish catches occurred throughout the year, with harvest at the beginning of
the rainy season and a state production estimated at 10,600.00 kg/year. This system has
undergone intensive, unorganized exploitation. It can be inferred from the biological
characteristics of the species that the increasing fishery effort is not compatible with the
capacity of environmental support or the needs of the fishermen. Regarding reproductive
parameters, mean length at first sexual maturity (L50) for males was 39.9 cm and slightly
higher for females (41.6 cm of total length). The sex proportion was 1:1.4, favoring males.
This species completes its entire life cycle within the study area; reproduction occurs
throughout the year, with two spawning peaks – one in November/December and another in
March/May. It is believed that the information gathered can contribute toward the drafting of
better sustainability proposals and actions regarding this fishery by combining ethnoknowledge
and scientific knowledge on this system.
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