Resumen

SILVA MONTENEGRO, Sineide C; NORDI, Nivaldo  y  W. MARQUES, José Geraldo. INCI [online]. 2001, vol.26, n.11, pp.535-540. ISSN 0378-1844.

Summary The fishing of "pitu" prawn (Macrobrachium carcinus) in the municipal district of Piranhas, located in the lower São Francisco Region downwards from the hydroelectric plant of Xingó, is an important part of fishermen’s income. This paper analyzes the cultural, ecological and economic contexts in which fishing activities are undertaken in the region, taking advantage of fishermen’s knowledge and data on production and the location of fishing points. Data on "pitu" production in 1998 were obtained through the Crustacean Recovery and Monitoring Program in São Francisco River in an agreement with CHESF/UFAL, and complemented with interviews. The analysis of 94% of the "pitu" annual production showed that the daily average production of 15 fishermen was 0.5kg. A comparison with fishermen’s expected production and the actual production showed that in 1998, it was 51% smaller than what would be considered a "good year of pitu". The fishermen identified 58 fishing points that were classified based on the monthly production of "pitu". The choice of fishing points was usually in accordance with the fishermen average ethnoecological knowledge on prey and productivity. It seems that the low "pitu" production in recent years is the main cause of the incorporation of new fishing points and of their spreaded spatial distribution since this is the only alternative for survival of that community of fishermen.

Palabras clave : Ecologia Humana ; Etnoecologia; Pesca de Pitu (Macrobrachium carcinus) .