Marambaia Project: an enhancement tool of small-scale fi sheries in Ceará State. Building and monitoration of arti fi cial reefs at Paracuru county

Abstract

Use of artificial reefs (ARs) as a tool for  fishery resources management has been thought of as a feasible alternative  for increasing  fishing productivity. Given the great variety of materials employed in their construction, it is evident the  need for assessing the effects of such procedure on the marine biota concerning its physical and biological features in  Northeast Brazil. This paper was designed to describe the building of ARs with metallic containers after a partnership  between the Brazilian Oil Company (PETROBRÁS) and the Marine Science Institute. The site’s least depth, suggestions  by  fishermen, care with navigation security and the reserve in respect to further surveys have been the chief criteria used  in choosing the right site for forthcoming installation of structures at a 10-mile distance from the coastline, in 20-meter  depths. This project has complied with the Maritime Authority NORMAN 11 guideline from the Harbor and Coast  Directorate of the Brazilian Navy, specific care being taken in the preparation of each container, namely opening of  “windows” in its walls and ceiling so as to account for accuracy in the sinking operation. The colonization process has  been mostly represented by Hydrozoa organisms. The 21 species identified the visual census, in a 18-month period, have  kept clustered in the reefs’ neighborhood, whereas an empty landscape is noticeable outside their sphere of action.