Abstract
This article presents a social and economic evaluation of land crab fishing in Maracanã-PA. Information was obtained through semi-structured interviews, informal conversations, and monitoring of crab fishing. The collected data formed the basis for a descriptive statistical analysis, using the mean as a measure of the central tendency and the variation coefficient as a measure of heterogeneity within each sampled variable. The total annual income and fishing effort of the professional crab catchers were calculated. About 20% of the 5,000 users of the Maracanã Extractive Reserve work in the crab catch. The capture rates per effort unit ranged from 20 to 400 crabs per man-day, averaging 92.2 (±39.2). All interviewed fishermen used the traditional “arm method” (braceamento) fishing technique, combined with the use of hooks as an extension tool of the arm. The fishing effort increased steadily from 1995 to 2007, corresponding to 68.93%, from 42,172 to 71,240 man-days.
Crab catching; Fishing effort; Mangrove; Income; Small-scale fishing; Extractive reserve
