The state of art of the artificial reefs installed on Ceará State’s continental shelf (Brazil)

Abstract

The use of artificial reefs as an instrument of fishing resources management has been seen as another alternative for the enhancement of marine fisheries in countries where fish production represents a great source of food and income. The first reports of the use of artificial reefs by man date over 300 years. In the United States it started around 1830, and in Australia and France in 1960s. In the 1950s Cuba started to use artificial reefs as a way to manage the lobster fishery by using structures made of palmtree trunks, old automobile tires and concrete pre-manufactured structures. In the United States a broad program of artificial reefs installation has been using obsolete structures once meant for oil exploitation. In the Northeast region of Brazil, reports indicate a certain tradition, among the artesanal fishermen population, to build a type of FAD (fishing aggregating device) as a practice that has been maintained and transmitted throughout fishermen’s generations. In some fishing communities is very common the use of wood, while in others the usual items used are old cars and electric appliances. Compared to other items used in artificial reef construction, old automobile tires present not only the lowest installation costs but also the longest time duration. The present paper aims to evaluate, up to the present time, the situation of artificial reefs installed in Ceará State, as well as to identify their sites, describe the main materials that have been used and estimate the actual areas corresponding to these artificial reef structures.