Pescadores e pescadoras artesanais: impactos socioeconômicos e ambientais do desastre do petróleo em municípios costeiros da Bahia

Abstract

To assess the impact caused by the oil spill on artisanal fishing in the state of Bahia, a field research was structured a year later, as well as a quantitative research using the Joaquim Nabuco Foundation (Fundaj Foundation) database for the state of Bahia. Altogether 605 fishermen answered the quantitative research questionnaire belonging to ten different municipalities in Bahia and 40 fishermen were interviewed for qualitative research in three communities of Porto Seguro and Prado municipalites, in the Extractive Reserve of Corumbau-BA. From the qualitative and quantitative research, respectively, 34 / 85% fish as their main activity, and 55% and 51.5% have "Registro Geral da Pesca - RGP" (General Registrer of Fishworkers). In addition to the impact on the environment, 38 and 92.4% said that the oil caused damage to fishing areas, the financial loss was cited: 24 declared zero income in the first months and 16 people had a reduction between 50% and 70% of their income. and 86.4% had an average reduction in family income. Problems such as the difficulty in purchasing other components of basic food and the devaluation of fish, with values taking more than a half year to return to market prices, were mentioned. In addition, during the pandemic period, the demand for fish suffered, resulting in a further decrease in price. Right after the disaster, the pandemic led to disarticulation, as many fishermen do not have remote access conditions. The resistance of traditional and environmental peoples was observed. Despite the sequence of impacts, they continued fishing, which should not be a justification for the lack of responsibility and compensatory actions. Health damage needs to be investigated. In addition, environmental and fish health monitoring needs to be carried out on an ongoing basis. It is necessary to listen to the communities, reinforce digital inclusion to facilitate meetings remotely in the pandemic, aiming to resume the articulations that strengthen the management of territories in a participatory and efficient manner.