Perfil sócio-econômico e etnoconhecimento ictiológico de “piabeiros” do município de Barcelos, Amazonas

Artisanal fisheries play a major role for the economic growth and populations of many countries in river and coastal regions. The Negro river basin is considered the largest area of extractive fishery for freshwater ornamental fish in Brazil, having more than half a century of existence and a traditional character, of fundamental importance for the populations bordering the Amazon. The present study aimed to describe the socioeconomic profile of ornamental fishermen from the Middle Negro river region, popularly known as "piabeiros" in the Municipality of Barcelos, as well as the local ornamental fishery, pointing to eras, target species, environments Fishing techniques, equipment, capture techniques and main difficulties and problems faced by the current activity. This study was carried out in the municipality of Barcelos, through semi structured interviews with questionnaires, with artisanal ornamental fishermen (N = 89), between January and april 2016. Most of the interviewed men were those living in the urban area (74.51%) and those in rural areas (81.08%), being natural of Barcelos. Featuring an age group over 60 years of age (40,38%), married civil status 77.08% urban and 59,46% rural and a low level of schooling, most of them only incomplete elementary education. Many reported having ornamental fishing as the main source of income (61,11%), with monthly family income below a minimum wage. In addition to ornamental fishery, fishermen carry out other economic activities in periods that end the exports of ornamental fish as a way of increasing monthly income, with commercial fishery for edible fish being the main activity cited by fishermen in urban areas (71, 43%) and rural (43,59%). The best periods of ornamental fishing considered by the fishermen were the times of flood, ebb and dry. The main families of ornamental fish caught and traded in the Barcelos region were: Characidae, Lebiasinidae, Gasteropelecidae, Cichilidae, Anostomidae, Oestoglossidae, Loricaridae, Potamotrygonidae, Callichthyidae and Gymnotidae. The main catchment areas of the mentioned species were igarapés, lakes, flooded fields, beaches, river banks and igapó forest. Rapiché was the most used equipment in the fisheries both by the fishermen of the urban areas (43, 81%) and rural (41, 89%). Most of the fishermen are associated with the Colony of fishermen of Barcelos (Z33), demonstrating balance in the number of active fishermen currently in the activity. It has shown that the dynamics of ornamental fishing have changed in a short time and directly affected fishermen, in addition to the low age renewal with the participation of younger fishermen, threatening the transmission of ecological knowledge to future generations, besides the increase of the problems related to the productive chain and absence of public power to the activity, since ornamental fishing has already been treated as one of the main economic activities more important for the local communities and for the State of Amazonas.