Spatial and temporal distribution of fishing resources exploited by the Manaus fishing fleet, Amazonas, Brazil

Recursos pesqueiros são importantes fontes de renda e alimento para as populações rurais e urbanas na Amazônia. O presente trabalho avalia a pesca e as variáveis ambientais que determinam a produção de pescarias que desembarcam em Manaus, e avalia também a abundância relativa de recursos pesqueiros em diferentes subsistemas na Amazônia Central. A informação coletada no porto de desembarque de pescado de Manaus foi utilizada para testar um novo índice de captura obtido a partir de um modelo de covariância que apresentou as seguintes variáveis significativas: número de pescadores/dia (dias de pesca vezes número de pescadores por viagem); distância do pesqueiro até Manaus; quantidade de gelo que usou durante a viagem; e nível de rio. Não houve nenhuma diferença significativa entre valores médios de captura entre os subsistemas do Purus, Madeira e de Juruá. Estes resultados sugerem que os tributários da margem direita são similares e mais produtivos em termos comerciais. Concluiu-se que a produção corrente varia de acordo com a magnitude de esforço pesqueiro, por variações ambientais, assim como por aspectos operacionais da pesca, particularmente o consumo de gelo.

Waste minimisation in fishing operations

Sources of wastes in fishing operations mainly include bycatch discards; processing wastes where catch is processed onboard; plastic wastes due to abandoned, lost and discarded fishing gear; bilges and other wastes from the vessel operations. Fishing systems in general have an associated catch of nontargeted organisms known as bycatch. Non-selective fishing gear that is not modified or equipped to exclude non-targeted organisms, may take a significant quantity of bycatch of non-targeted finfish, juvenile fish, benthic animals, marine mammals, marine birds and vulnerable or endangered species that are often discarded. Average annual global discards, has been estimated to be 7.3 million t, based on a weighted discard rate of 8%, during 1992-2001 period. Trawl fisheries for shrimp and demersal finfish account for over 50% of the total estimated global discards. Plastic materials are extensively used in fisheries, owing to their durability and other desirable properties, contributing to the efficiency and catchability of the fishing gear. However, plastics biodegrade at an extremely slow rate compared to other organic materials. Abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) and related marine debris have been recognized as a critical problem in the marine environment and for living marine resources. Prevention of excess fishing capacity by appropriate management measures could lead to enormous savings in terms of fuel consumption, emissions and bycatch discards from the excess fishing fleet, capital and operational investments and labour deployment in capture fisheries, with significant economic gains. In this paper, wastes originating from fishing operations are reviewed, along with their environmental impacts and possible mitigation measures