Description and composition of catches from the artisanal fishing fleet in Northeastern Brazil

Abstract

Between January 1998 and March 2000 were sampled 2,998 landings from 975 craft, totaling 207.7 tons of  bony and cartilaginous fish from the artisanal fleet of motorized and sailing craft. The fishing gears included deep-water  and surface hand lines, gill net, net for flying fish, surrounding net and fish traps in the states of Alagoas, Pernambuco,  Ceará, Piauí and northern Bahia. The data collected resulted from type and category of landings and fishing gear  utilized; areas and depths of actions; catch composition; and the lengths and weights of the samples caught. The states  of Bahia (33%) and Ceará (31.5%) had the largest productions, followed by Alagoas and Pernambuco (22.3%), and  Rio Grande do Norte (13.3%). Motorized craft represented 37.6% and sailboats represented 62.4% of the fleet. The  motorized craft accounted for 53.4% of landings and 60.5% of production. Sailboats represented 46.6% and 39.5% of  the landings and production. The most commonly used fishing gear was hand line, which was present in 66.2% of the  craft, 74.6% of landings and 85.6% of production. A total of 170 species, 104 genera and 52 families were identified  among the 121,475 individuals sampled.