SOCIOECONOMIC BENEFITS OF DEMERSAL AND PELAGIC ARTISANAL FISHERIES
Artisanal fishing; Socioeconomic benefits, Value chain; Fishing resources; Canthidermis; Batrachoides.
Small-scale fishing contributes most to commercial fishery production, generating a significant amount of employments (direct and indirect), and is responsible for the food security of many coastal populations. The highlight of artisanal fishing is the great concentration of boats and their contribution to fishing production and, consequently, to national GDP. Fish production has been increasing and developing countries, such as Brazil, have been standing out. In Brazil, the northern and northeastern regions have a significant contribution in artisanal fishing and in national production, and still have the highest concentration of boats. Currently, studies related to the value chain and services of artisanal fishing have been increasing, showing the importance of understanding the organization and distribution of the socioeconomic benefits that this activity offers. With this understanding we can verify the impact of artisanal fishing along the value chain and in coastal populations. The main compositions of artisanal fishing are demersal and pelagic fish. In the present work, we investigated the species caught and the value landed in demersal and pelagic artisanal fisheries. With the first data, during the collection of landings at the Fishing Terminal of Natal / RN, we recorded the first occurrence of the Canthidermis maculata caught by the pelagic artisanal fishery. It is a species of great economic and ecological importance, being considered the fourth by-catch of tuna fishing. Thus, the first chapter of this work reports the first occurrence of two species of fish on the coast of Rio Grande do Norte (Batrachoides surinamensis and Canthidermis maculata) and the fishing importance of catches of Canthidermis maculata.