ARTICLE IN PRESS

Marine Policy 34 (2010) 742751

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Marine Policy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/marpol

Building adaptive capacity to climate variability: The case of artisanal

sheries in the estuary of the Patos Lagoon, Brazil
Daniela C. Kalikoski a,, Pedro Quevedo Neto a, Tiago Almudi b
a
b

~ (ICHI), Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Caixa Postal 475, Cep: 96201-900, Brazil
Instituto de Ciencias Humanas e da Informac- ao
Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba, 303-70 Dysart Road Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3T 2N2

a r t i c l e in f o

a b s t r a c t

Article history:
Received 14 December 2009
Received in revised form
4 February 2010
Accepted 4 February 2010

The vulnerabilities of shing communities to climate and environmental change represent major issues for
the governance of sheries resources which have a direct effect on human security, livelihoods and rights.
This paper explores the dynamics of social-ecological systems in the estuary of the Patos Lagoon in southern
Brazil. The paper identies key factors that increase and/or minimize the vulnerabilities of the shing
communities in this lagoon with the objective of understanding: (a) the degree to which shing
communities are able to build adaptive and learning capacities to minimize/reduce vulnerabilities and
maintain their livelihoods; and (b) how and under what circumstances external and internal factors may
inuence and disrupt the social-ecological resilience in this lagoon system. Results show that shing
communities with a higher degree of self-organization are able to create ways to minimize their
vulnerability to adverse climatic conditions. However, only a few communities have developed adaptive
mechanisms to cope with the inuence of climate on resource abundance and availability. Little external
institutional support for small-scale shing communities, erosion of their traditional resource use systems
and decreasing sh stocks in recent decades have all led to a gradual increase in the vulnerability of shing
livelihoods in this lagoon. The uncertainties associated with climate are related to increasing vulnerability
and inuence the degree of resource conservation and exploitation. The lack of public policies to deal with
the impact of climate variability on the livelihoods of shing communities and the presence of weak
institutions in resource governance represent major threats to the social security of shers in this region.
& 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords:
Small-scale sheries
Vulnerabilities
Adaptive capacity
Climate change
Brazil
Patos Lagoon

1. Introduction
The vulnerability of a group of people is inversely proportional
to their ability to anticipate, work, resist and recover from a
natural disaster [1]. Understanding the vulnerabilities of shing
communities and their strategies to cope with and adapt from
climate variability is crucial for the development of policies and
operational rules that can maintain the livelihoods of these
communities and their social-ecological systems. According to
Berkes [2] the ability for self-organization in a system and its
capacity for learning and experimentation are attributes that can
be used as a rough measure of resilience. The concept of resilience
is promising in the eld of vulnerabilities and climate variability
because it provides elements to analyse the capability of shing
systems to develop adaptive strategies to persist and transform in
the face of perturbations [2].
The focus of this study is on the analysis of climatic impacts on
the socioeconomic vulnerability of shing communities, especially

 Corresponding author. Tel.: + 55 53 32336844; fax: +55 53 32335076.

E-mail addresses: [email protected], [email protected]

(D.C. Kalikoski), [email protected] (P. Quevedo Neto),
[email protected] (T. Almudi).
0308-597X/$ - see front matter & 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2010.02.003

those engaged in pink shrimp (Farfantepenaeus paulensis) sheries in

the estuary of the Patos Lagoon, southern Brazil. The most important
aspects of the characterization of this vulnerability consist primarily
in the identication of adaptive strategies developed by shing
communities in this lagoon. The vulnerability of shing communities to climate and environmental change is a major issue for the
governance of sheries resources and has a direct effect on human
security, livelihoods and shing rights.
This study aims to identify key factors that increase and/or
minimize the vulnerabilities of the shing communities in the
lagoon with the objective of understanding: (a) the degree to which
shing communities are able to build adaptive and learning
capacities to minimize/reduce vulnerabilities and maintain their
livelihoods; and (b) how and under what circumstances external
and internal factors may inuence and disrupt the social-ecological
resilience in this lagoon.

1.1. The estuary of the Patos Lagoon, southern Brazil

The estuarine region of the Patos Lagoon is located in the
southern Brazilian Coastal Zone (Rio Grande do Sul State), an area
of the Biosphere Reserve [3]. With an area of approximately
10,000 km2, the Patos Lagoon is recognized as the worlds largest

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743

Fig. 1. Location of the Patos Lagoon estuary in southern Brazil. Source: [4].

choked lagoon, stretching from 301300 S to 321120 S near the city of

Rio Grande where the lagoon connects to the Atlantic Ocean
(Fig. 1).
The estuarine region encompasses approximately 10% of the
lagoon, and is occupied by diverse and abundant ora and fauna.
The abundant food resources and protection against predation
provided by estuarine shoals makes this region an ideal nursery
ground for several commercially important sh species.
The estuary is characterized by a relatively shallow body of
water (mean depth of 7 m) with variable temperature and salinity
depending on local climatic and hydrological conditions [5]. The
dynamics of estuarine waters are determined by the wind and
rain regimes with only a minor inuence of the tide. In general in
the period from September to April the dominant winds are from
NE, NNE and ENE while in the winter period winds from E, S, SE
and SW are most frequent. While the former favors the discharge
of freshwater and creates a low salinity regime in the estuary, the
latter forces the penetration of salt water through the estuarine
channel and creates marine conditions in the estuary [7]. The
mean annual precipitation (12001500 mm) varies strongly from
year to year and is related to the path and passage of cold fronts
[6]. Mean monthly rainfall is highest during the winter and spring
(June to October), but a second peak may occur in summer. Interannual variations in precipitation with either a high amount of
o
rainfall or dry periods seem to be a consequence of the El-Nin
Southern Oscillation cycle on the regional climate [4]. In general,
o events cause ooding in southern Brazil.
years of strong El-Nin

This phenomenon directly inuences the amount of continental

freshwater runoff and the biogeochemical processes in the
estuary and coastal ecosystem [8].
The Patos Lagoon system connects with the ocean via the
channel between a pair of jetties, about 4 km long and 740 m
apart at the mouth. All the estuarine dependent marine organisms
enter and leave the estuary through this channel for nursery,
reproductive and feeding purposes. Based on the seasonal
abundance and movement patterns of organisms, Chao et al. [9]
identied ve distinct bioecological categories in the estuary:
estuarine resident species, that complete their entire life cycles in
the estuarine environment; estuarine dependent marine species,
which utilize the estuary as nursery and feeding ground for young
but spawn at sea; the anadromous species that enter the estuary
to reproduce; and opportunists and occasional visitors, which
include more than 50 marine and freshwater shes. Of the more
than 110 species of sh and shellsh that occur in the estuary, 4
represent important sheries resources, and have sustained
artisanal sheries in the estuary for more than a century. Short
descriptions of the life-cycles and dynamics of these species are
provided in Table 1.
These characteristic life cycles create a well dened seasonal
variability in the diversity and abundance of resources in the
estuary and also in the availability of resources to artisanal
sheries. Fisheries landings also present a marked inter-annual
variability related to the occurrence of strong ENSO events
[1416]. By affecting the amount of rainfall in the region these

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D.C. Kalikoski et al. / Marine Policy 34 (2010) 742751

Table 1
Summary of biology and life-cycle of main artisanal sheries resources in the
estuary of Patos Lagoon (sources [1013]).

Marine catsh,
Netuma barba

Croaker,
Micropogonias
furnieri

Mullet (mainly
represented by
Mugil platanus)

Estuarine dependent species. Adults spawn in shelf

waters below 50 m deep, producing demersal eggs
that hatch into planktonic larvae. When
approaching estuaries the larvae develop a benthic
habit settling in shallow areas where they will grow
for a few months until reaching the pre-adult phase
when they migrate to the ocean reinitiating the
cycle. The growing phase in the estuary may last
between 4 and 10 months when they reach ca. 7 cm
of length. Larvae enter with varying success into the
estuary all year round but mainly in the spring and
summer depending on environmental forcing of
wind and freshwater outow
Slow-growing, anadromous species with a
calculated life span of approximately 23 years,
though adults may occasionally attain 36 years of
age and a total length of 98 cm. At the end of the
winter the species migrates into the Patos Lagoon
estuary. Maturation takes place in early spring in
the estuary followed by spawning in the coastal
waters in early summer. N. barba has low fecundity
and after reproduction the males incubate the eggs
for up to 2 months. Between spawning seasons,
adults disperse over the entire shelf
Depends on the estuary of Patos Lagoon as a
nursery and feeding ground. Croakers spawn during
spring and summer in coastal waters under the
inuence of freshwater runoff from the Patos
Lagoon. Adults normally migrate into the estuary in
SeptemberOctober and leave the area in
DecemberJanuary. Young and sub-adult croakers
occur throughout the year near the coast and in the
estuary of Patos Lagoon. Adults are dispersed over
the shelf and migrate from Uruguay to southern
Brazil during the fall and winter and towards
Uruguay in the summer
Mullets occur year round in the Patos Lagoon and
adjacent coastal waters. Juveniles are more
abundant in the winter and spring in nursery areas
of the lagoon. In the fall, adult mullets leave the
estuary and initiate their reproductive migration.
Spawning occurs in warmer offshore waters at
about 271S between the end of the fall and winter.
Eggs and larvae are transported from spawning
grounds towards the surf zone, followed by a longshore migration to the estuary of Patos Lagoon

events can directly inuence the availability of resources to

artisanal shers in the estuary and thus impact the total landings
(Fig. 2). Moller et al. [15] noted that the frequency of occurrence
o events increased after 1970. Bakun [17]
of strong El Nin
classied the period from the 70 s to the early 90 s as one of
o characteristics, which resulted in synenhanced El Nin
chronous inter-decadal changes in the production of sh stocks
in different parts of the world. Despite the lack of data to assess
the importance of such climatic regimes to sheries in the Patos
Lagoon, it is possible that the region is also under the inuence of
inter-decadal climatic variability. Coupled with major changes in
resource exploitation and management, such climatic regimes can
amplify the magnitude of change in sheries resources in the
estuary of Patos Lagoon.
Understanding how the ecosystem is structured and how it
changes in response to human impacts requires understanding
the dynamics of ecosystem succession and resilience. Holling [18]
and Holling et al. [19] suggested four primary phases in an
ecosystem succession cycle which synthesize common features
observed in both terrestrial and aquatic systems. The phases are:
exploitation, in which rapid colonization of recently disturbed
areas by opportunist species occurs and leads to growth in the
size of the system; conservation, in which the system slowly

tonnes

Pink shrimp,
Farfantepenaeus
paulensis

Total

50000
45000

Shrimp

40000

Croacker

35000

Catfish

30000

Mullets

25000
20000
15000
19000
5000
0
1945

1955

1965
1975
Year

1985

1995

Fig. 2. Top: artisanal sheries landings in the estuary of Patos Lagoon. The arrows
o events. Bottom: result of spectral analysis of
indicate the years with strong El-Nin
total sheries landing variance explained by multi-annual cycles (data source:
SUDEPE and IBAMA).

Renewal
spawning &
recruitment

Conservation
growth &
reproduction

Climatic
conditions
adults leave the
estuary

fish & shrimp

enter estuary
Exploitation

Release
Artisanal fisheries

Fig. 3. Four phases model of sheries resource dynamics in the estuary of the
Patos Lagoon and coastal areas (adapted from [18]). During the cycle of
exploitation, conservation, release and reorganization, biological time ows
unevenly. It is slow from the exploitation to the conservation phase, then very
rapid to the release, rapidly to reorganization and back to the exploitation phase.

accumulates and stores energy and material, and develops a more

complex structure until a climax is attained; release, in which the
tightly bound accumulation of biomass and nutrients becomes
increasingly fragile until they are suddenly released by physical or
biological disturbances and unexpected events; and reorganization, in which physicalbiological processes minimize losses and
renew the system to become available for the next phase of
exploitation.
This model considers that these phases cycles are driven by a
few dominant variables organized across scales in time and space
[18,19]. Examples of regional resource management [20] also
suggest that institutions and societies achieve periodic advances
in understanding and learning through similar cycles of growth,
production (greatest efciency), release (crisis) and renewal that
shape the spatial and temporal dynamics of ecosystems. Hollings
four phases model thus provides a framework that is useful for
understanding the relationships between, and resilience of, both
the dynamics of ecosystems (its structure and change) and the
functioning of institutions.
Fig. 3 represents the dynamics of artisanal sheries in the
estuary of Patos Lagoon and illustrates the four major phases in
life cycles of the living resources in the estuary and coastal areas.
In the exploitation phase, sheries resources enter the estuarine
environment for growth or reproduction, leading to the

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conservation phase in which these resources increase in size and

mature. Adults leave the estuary in the release phase to spawn and
recruit in the marine environment, and close the cycle with the
renewal phase. The inuences of climatic conditions (and harvest)
are conspicuous in the transition from renewal to exploitation
phases because of their effect on recruitment success and on the
migration/dispersal of resources towards the estuarine
environment.

2. Methodology
Primary data were obtained through interviews with artisanal
shers. Information was collected according to criteria adapted
from Marschke and Berkes [21] for the assessment of vulnerabilities and resilience of social-ecological systems:
(1) Diversication and specialization: shers who diversify,
whether with other species or other activities, are likely to
be less vulnerable.
(2) Trading and subsistence: the food security of artisanal
shers families depends on animal protein obtained from
the sheries products.
(3) Innovation and conservation: tactics used for resource
maintenance and as adaptation to adverse events.
(4) Fisheries policies and integration: the role/lack of public
policies to assist shers to maintain their livelihoods and
avoid segregation in the case of adverse climatic conditions.
(5) Location and externalization: the relationship between local
and national markets; the more dependent on one particular
market, the more vulnerable.
(6) Changes in shing practices: changes in shing calendars,
shing techniques and species caught may be related to an
increase or decrease in vulnerability.
(7) Uncertainties: greater uncertainties generate greater vulnerability if mechanisms to cope with it are non-existent

745

(e.g. variation of the price of sh/shrimp in a year/season in

relation to sh abundance and market strategies).
(8) Scale and social cohesion: the level of cohesion among
shers and its relation to livelihood strategies to deal with
vulnerability issues.
(9) Community self-organization: the more organized the community, the greater the probability of successfully dealing
with vulnerabilities.
(10) Adaptation and learning mechanisms: the more exible the
shery rules and practices are, and the more that learning
and adaptation strategies are present, the lower will be the
vulnerabilities.
Interviews were done face-to-face through the use of a semistructured questionnaire which worked as a guide for the
interviewer, allowing for both focus and exibility in data
collection [22,23]. The questions were adjusted to the shers
language, with both interview structure and language being
previously tested in shing communities. In order to identify
prospective respondents, a snowball technique was used [22,23].
Fishers recognized by the local shing community as highly
knowledgeable on the study area were sought. Interviews were
recorded with the interviewees consent, and anonymity was
granted in order to create the least constraints possible for the
elucidation of the raised themes, which were often related to
delicate issues such as illegal shing practices. One member of the
shing community was included in the research team to help
with eld trips, to provide access into the communities, to nd
shers to be interviewed, and also to make the presence of the
interviewers the least awkward for the interviewees, thus
improving data quality. Digital voice les were transcribed into
text les and analyzed based on: (1) identifying the vulnerabilities of shing systems, (2) identifying and analyzing the most
vulnerable systems and why they are so, and (3) understanding
the means by which the shing communities become less
vulnerable to climatic events which damage the main harvests

Table 2
Interviews held according to shing system and communities.
Characteristics of shing systems of the estuary of Patos Lagoon

Fishing community

Municipality

1: Exclusively professional shers, who live far from urban centers, and who specialize in
shing in the inner waters of the estuary and the Lagoon itself. They mainly use
stownets in the pink shrimp shery
2: Exclusively professional shers, who live in communities near the channel of the port
of Rio Grande, and specialize in both inner-water shing and costal marine shing. They
mainly use trawl nets to catch pink shrimp within the estuary and also to catch sea
shrimp (Artemesia longinaris) outside the mouth of Patos Lagoon
3: Occasional shers who do not rely entirely on shing as source of income. The shers
in this system do other work in the city, usually low-grade, part-time construction
work. They live in communities within the urban area. These shers specialize in
shing in the inner waters of the estuary, mainly working in the stownet pink shrimp
shery
4: Exclusively professional shers, who live near or in relatively well-developed
communities (such as Arroio Sujo). The access to quality housing and services differs
among communities representing this system. They show a highly diversied shery; it
is common to nd within the same community shers with distinct shing
technologies (e.g., trawls and stownets) and shing areas (both outside the mouth and
within the Lagoon). Some also have additional activities other than shing
5: This shing system is the one located furthest north in the estuary, and presents a
singular shing calendar, beneting from both estuarine-dependent oceanic and fresh
water shing resources. For example, the preferential closed season for these
communities is during the spring (while for the others it is during the winter), as these
shers conduct an important catsh shery during the winter months. Fishery
technologies are similar to the other communities in the estuary. A sizable proportion
of these shers also use the marine coastal zone as shing grounds (mainly for the
white croaker), though they have not developed a shery for sea shrimp
6: The sher-farmer, found in rural areas surrounding the estuary of Patos Lagoon. This
system focuses mainly on the pink shrimp shery with stownets during the harvest,
and is also dedicated to year-round rural activities

Marinheiros Island (Marambaia),

Torotama Island, Varzea and Sa~ o
Jose do Norte,
4a Secc- a~ o da Barra, Povoac- a~ o da
Barra and 2a Sec- a~ o da Barra

Rio Grande Sa~ o

Jose do Norte

Rio Grande

Vila Sa~ o Miguel, Henrique Pancada,

Don Bosquinho and Embratel

Rio Grande

Sa~ o Jose do Norte urban area,

Bosque, Praia do Norte, Arroio Sujo

Rio Grande, Sa~ o

Jose do Norte and
Pelotas

Sa~ o Lourenc- o do Sul

Sa~ o Lourenc- o do
Sul

Marinheiros Island, Leondio Island

and Torotama Island

Rio Grande

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D.C. Kalikoski et al. / Marine Policy 34 (2010) 742751

Fig. 4. Fishing colonies in the estuary of Patos Lagoon. Fishing systems 1 and 2 are
constituted by members of shing colonies from Sa~ o Jose do Norte (Z2) and Rio
Grande (Z1), while shing systems 3 and 6 are solely formed by shers from Rio
Grande. Fishers from Pelotas, belonging to Colony Z3, and shers from the urban
area of Sa~ o Jose do Norte integrate the shing system 4, while shers from Sa~ o
Lourenc- o, represented by Colony Z8, constitute shing system 5.

that support the small-scale shery sector in the region.

Comparison across the shing systems of the estuary of the Patos
Lagoon (Table 2) was done to focus on the features that make one
system environmentally, economically, and socially more resilient
or more vulnerable than another. The survey was applied to 46
shers in January and February, 2006 according to the shing
systems typology of the estuary of Patos Lagoon (Table 2 and
Fig. 4).

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Adaptive capacity in shing systems: strategies through shers
ways of living
Several tactics are used to maintain shers livelihoods,
typically related to unfavorable climatic conditions in which
shers nd themselves threatened by events that result in poor
harvests. Among them is the search for activities in which they
usually do not work, whether related to artisanal shing itself,
industrial shing, or activities unrelated to shing. One adaptive
mechanism is the exploration of species as yet unexploited, such
as fresh water sh, or blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus). In recent
years, for example, this crustacean has been an important source
of alternative income for shers with the development of a new
consumer market such that crab may become one of the main
sources of income in some communities.
Outside the shery sector, shers nd temporary work in the
urban area (e.g., construction work) or in the rural area (e.g., pine
reforestation). Large numbers of shers, particularly those who

live in areas distant from the cities, often turn to small-scale

farming activities or nd jobs in the farms which usually include
rice and onion culture. Artisanal shers often nd temporary
work in the industrial shery sector, both shing aboard vessels
or accomplishing dockside activities such as unloading sh or
xing nets.
Fishers recognize species that are abundant and still to be
explored, indicating some potential for commercialization.
Among them is the menhaden (Brevoortia spp.), which have been
marketed by shing companies in the past. Fresh-water (e.g.
curimatidCyphocharax sp), and salt-water species (e.g., swordshTrichiurus lepturus and red shrimpAristeus antennatus) are
also recognized as having considerable potential yields, but
currently low market value.
Due to the overexploitation of some harvests (e.g., catsh and
black drum) and an increase in the occurrence of unsuccessful
seasons for the most important harvestsparticularly pink
shrimpan increase in shing effort has taken place. Increase in
the shing effort includes the use of high-technology gear such as
sh-school detection echo-sounders; the use of more and larger
nets; longer time spent shing (in boats with greater autonomy);
a broader search for sh schools and the expansion of each shers
shing territory. Fishers have also applied a variety of shing
gears to increase capture (e.g., the use of trawl nets particularly
otter trawling in shallow areas as a way to make up for bad
harvests), resulting in predatory resource exploitation. One
exception is the development of new stownet placement methods
with different positions through the night.
Another adjustment sher use against the decrease in harvests
is to reduce costs, with adjustments including performing boat
maintenance with cheaper materials, buying used nets instead of
new gear, and attempts to use other light sources instead of
gas lanterns in the stownet pink shrimp shery. A considerable
number of shers compensate for low captures by adding value to
the products they sell. Instead of trying to catch more sh, shers
concentrate on activities such as removing the carapace of shrimp
and making llets of nsh to get higher prices.

3.2. Inuence of shing changes and uncertainties

The low prices paid for the main species caught by small-scale
shers, the reduction in catch, and the increasing costs of shing
have made the pink shrimp harvest, economically the most
important one in the estuary of Patos Lagoon, fundamental to the
well-being of the shing communities in this region. Paradoxically, pink shrimp harvests, which could guarantee a reasonable
income for most shers, are highly unpredictable as this species is
affected the most from climatic variability [14,15]. This creates an
uncertain situation in regard to the catch of shrimp which varies
as a function of the rain regime. Abundant rain in the upper
watersheds makes it difcult for pink shrimp larvae to enter the
estuary due to intense runoff, jeopardizing sheries activities in
the lagoon. In addition to the rain regime, economic variables add
uncertainty. For instance, the export rates of sh products
inuence the price paid for pink shrimp. Due to such uncertainties, shers often consider the shing profession to be psychologically less comfortable than any other economic activity, as most
other activities generate a more predictable income.
In spite of federal and state-level public policies to help nance
artisanal shers to obtain better equipment, the number of shers
that received loans has decreased, most probably because shers
are becoming less sure they will be able to honor their debt. In
fact, those who have had access to nancing programs such as the
National Program to Strengthen Small-scale Agriculture (Programa Nacional de Fortalecimento da Agricultura FamiliarPRONAF)

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and the State of Rio Grande do Sul Fisheries Program (RS-Pesca)

have complained of increasing debts because of market interest,
as the failure of previous harvests have prevented them from
being able to repay their debts as planned.
Most sherswith the exception of those who regularly
practice agriculture as an important source of income or at least
for subsistencedo not have a livelihood strategy in case the pink
shrimp harvest fails. Since it is not always possible to obtain a
temporary or casual job to maintain basic house expenses, their
families often endure periods of shortages, at times depending on
government help or other assistance to survive.

747

Considering the uncertain number (approximately 5000

families) of shers in the estuary of Patos Lagoon, the proportion
present at meetings is very low. Usually, the presidents of the
shing colonies1 attend most meetings, and the most involved
shers end up becoming leaders in their communities, communicating information about the subjects discussed in the meetings.
This is because the Forum of the Patos Lagoon represents a comanagement arrangement that is not purely community-based,
which hampers the full involvement of shers in the process [29].

3.4. Self-organization of shing systems and public policy

3.3. Social cohesion and institutional relationships
Kinship and friendship ties among shing communities are
important mechanisms which allow shers and their families to
minimize uncertainties. Mutual protection of shing gear, shing
grounds and knowledge sharing about the best shing spot in a
given shing season increase the chances of each sher obtaining
his/her catch and illustrate a level of community self-organization
which decreases vulnerability. Although the shrimp shing nets
are xed nets, shers do move their shing spots according to
changes in shrimp abundance in the lagoon. Therefore, during the
season, shing locations may change from day to day if there is
space available. This mobility is part of the territorial accords
made informally among shers and is well respected. During the
day when shers are selling the shrimp, they leave the nets hung
in the shing spot. There is an exchange of favors between shers,
and generally when one sher sells his shrimp the others help to
take care of the shing equipment and locations to make sure that
no invasion and/or robbery occurs. In all shing systems, although
there is intrinsic secrecy concerning the best shing spots, the
sharing of information about the catch through kinship and
friendship ties reduces uncertainty and increases the chances of
each sher obtaining his/her own catch. Mechanisms to monitor
such equipment as boats, engines, and shing gear similar to
those in the pink shrimp shery, were also created as a
consequence of increased theft. Day and night shifts to monitor
shing equipment have been agreed upon among shers who
work near each other. Such ties are described by Begossi [24] and
identied in the Patos Lagoon by Almudi et al. [25] as being
important for the development of territoriality. That implies
respect for traditionally established rules such as stownet
placement stations for the pink shrimp harvest and the enforcement of shing locations by family members and by those with
shared afnities.
The existence of a shery co-management arrangement, i.e.
the Forum of the Patos Lagoon, creates an opportunity for
decreasing vulnerabilities through the involvement of shers in
decision-making [2629]. Nevertheless, issues of sub-optimal
participation jeopardize that potential. There are several levels of
participation in the Forum of the Patos Lagoon [27,29]. Some
shers do not know about the Forum, but there are others who
take part in most of its meetings. According to Kalikoski [27], 31%
of the artisanal shers in the estuary of Patos Lagoon have
attended at least one Forum meeting. Of those, 76% feel that the
Forum works in some way on behalf of shers interests [27].
Although some shers consider the meetings important, they
complain that such meetings are too time-consuming and
disorganized. The lack of participation is mainly due to the
locations where the meetings take place. Other factors pointed
out by the shers include scheduling problems with the date or
time, as most of them are working when meetings are held,
problems with invitations, and transportation costs to the meeting place [27].

Public policy may act upon the artisanal shing systems of the
estuary of Patos Lagoon at different levels or scales. The public
policies that directly help the small-scale shery sector in the
region include the unemployment benet program during shing
closures and loans from the National Program for Empowering
Small-scale Agriculture (Programa Nacional de Fortalecimento da
Agricultura FamiliarPronaf) and from the state program RS Pesca
which aims to improve shing livelihoods and the productive
capacity of shers. These are federal and state programs that give
shers access to credit at the local level [30]. In addition, during
shing closures, shers are entitled to receive unemployment
benets as an incentive to comply with regulations and as a
mechanism to maintain their livelihoods during this period. The
granting of unemployment benets was a victory obtained
through the Forum of the Patos Lagoon co-management arrangement, and the demands from the shers themselves within the
Forum.
In spite of the higher degree of cohesion and organization
found among shers in some of the shing systems, such as
shing system 4, public policies towards minimizing community
vulnerabilities associated with climate change have not yet been
implemented for the shery sector. For instance, at the time of
writing this article, the National Plan for Climate Change2 did not
include sheries among the sectors potentially vulnerable to
climate change, even though there are successful examples of
public policies applied to other sectors, such as agriculture.

3.5. Adaptive mechanisms used by shers

One of the single most important characteristics of estuarine
artisanal sheries is the shing calendar. Prior to the time when
practically no formal sheries management rules existed (before
the 1960s), artisanal sheries followed a calendar of activities
(rules in use) determined by the abundances of different sheries
resources during the year and by the shing technologies in use.
The calendar was established by and reected the experience
of local shers. As such, it represented a form of traditional
ecological knowledge with important consequences for the
resilience of artisanal sheries because it posed limits on the
exploitation of resources.
From January to May shers captured primarily shrimp and
mullet, although some also shed for black drum, catsh and
menhaden. Mullet were shed mainly in two periods: in January
when the adults were returning from their spawning grounds in
the sea, and during the spawning runs, which normally occurred
between April and June. Elder shers recall that until 1950 the
main triggers for mullet to start schooling and to migrate to the
1
The Fisher Colony is a professional organization of shers of a given
municipality, which is legitimized by the Federal Constitution of Brazil as one form
of working union.
2
Available at www.mma.gov.br

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sea were the last quarter moon of May and the cold temperatures
accompanying the fronts from the Southwest.
Beginning in the month of June, shers prepared to catch
menhaden, young croakers and silverside sh. Menhaden were
caught during the spawning migration towards the lagoon.
Menhaden were among the most important artisanal sheries
resources between the late 1940s and early 1960s when the
average catch was on the order of 2,000 tonnes per year [31].
Although shers claim that menhaden are still abundant in the
estuary and coastal areas, the species is no longer the target of a
commercial shery.
The catsh season normally began in August and lasted until
early November. This shery targeted the catsh spawning
grounds in the upper estuary and the large adult catsh that
were entering the Lagoon. A less intensive shery also occurred
during the summer months, especially in February, when catsh
migrated back to the sea, and the males were incubating the
young in their mouth. Only a few shers were involved in this
shery because the catsh was normally thin and did not have a
high value.
The croaker and black drum season started in October or right
after the catsh season. Initially croakers were caught mainly on
the beaches at the mouth of the estuary. Schools of black drum
were located by the noise produced by the sh which vibrated in
the wood walls of the shing boat. The black drum shery has
never reached the economic importance of croaker, even when
the species was still abundant in the estuary. The peak production
of black drum during the 1960s was on average 690 tonnes, while
during the same period the average croaker production was on
order of 7,000 tonnes (SUDEPE).
The shing calendar in the estuary of Patos Lagoon is,
according to shers, strongly inuenced by the strength of the
intrusion of salt water and the rainfall regime. Saltwater is
considered by many shers the single most important
factor controlling artisanal sheries activities in the estuary of
Patos Lagoon. This inuence is particularly conspicuous in the
shrimp shery. Shrimp is considered to be controlled more by the
climate than the other sh resources. A good shing season
usually occurs if the salinity of the estuary is ideal in the
period from October to December; the earlier the estuary is
replenished with saltwater the earlier will be the shrimp season.
It does not matter if the winter was rainy or not, the important
period for shrimp is the end of the spring, a sher stated. Such
relationship between rainfall regime and shrimp production was
demonstrated by Castello and Moller [14] and Moller et al. [15]. A
warm winter is also viewed by shers as benecial for the shrimp
season.
Croaker, black drum and catsh migrate into the estuary
during the ood regime when marine waters enter the estuary,
which is determined largely by the strength of southern winds.
According to shers, croakers are dispersed and at the bottom
when in the marine environment, and before entering the lagoon
they aggregate in large pelagic schools. It is in this period and
areas that croakers are most vulnerable to the shery, both to
artisanal gillnets and industrial purse seiners. Once in the estuary
the sh remain in areas with saltwater or brackish watera sher
suggested that of a school of 100 tonnes of croaker only 5 will go to
areas with freshwater. Fishers know by the color of croakers if
they came from the sea or if they have been in the estuary for a
period of time. The presence of saltwater in the estuary in the Fall
is also viewed as benecial for the mullet season since it controls
the formation of schools and the timing of the spawning run. This
is corroborated by Vieira and Scalabrin [13] who demonstrated
that the reproductive migration of adult mullet intensies with
the decrease in temperature and increase in salinity of the
estuarine waters observed during the Fall.

Resource use by small-scale shers in the estuary of Patos

Lagoon was and still is to a large extent conditioned by the
availability of the resources in the estuarine environment. This, in
turn, is controlled seasonally by the inuence of the weather and
is also affected by the inuence of the moon on the behavior of
the sh. As explained by a sher:
ynature makes its own shing closure with the moon, the bad
weather, and also the sh, because if it is too windy the sh do
not move and you cannot catch them. For instance, if the
mullet sees the net it does not enmesh. If it is not the right
time, and the sh do not want to be captured, you cannot catch
them.
However, resource use practices changed markedly with time
when new shing technologies were introduced and the industrialization of sheries brought exploitation beyond the limits of
the carrying capacity of resources. Changes in shing practice and
resource conditions are described in detail in Kalikoski [27].
What is learned from the above forms of resource use? When
resources were abundant, the shing calendar worked in a way
that allowed shers to benet from the most abundant resources
in a season, while limiting the amount of shing pressure (time)
over a particular species and/or a critical period. For instance,
shing for catsh during the summer months, when the males are
incubating the young, was normally discouraged and unnecessary
given the availability of other resources such as croaker and
shrimp. Similarly, the capture of large amounts of shrimp below
the optimal size (between late spring and early summer) was in
part prevented by the type of shing technology in use, and also
by the existence of alternative shing resources. A failure of a
shing season, which was normally veried with shrimp, resulted
in a re-distribution of shing effort to the other resources
available in the period, but not to the point of over-exploitation
because the shing practices were more compatible with the
carrying capacity of the system and a smaller number of people
were involved in the activity.
Until the recent creation of formal rules dening the calendar
for each estuarine shery (Decrees MMA/SEAP 03/2004), an
informal calendar was still in place but was much less signicant
than in the past. Fig. 5 shows the changes in the shing calendar
of the main artisanal sheries between the 1960s and the early
1990s. Species such as mullet, that were shed mostly in late fall
(April to June) during the spawning run, were in the early 1990s
shed almost equally throughout the year. For other resources,
such as catsh, the collapse of the stock brought a change in the
shing calendar from spring to winter when the few remaining
catsh sustained a smaller shery in the upper estuary.
Prior to industrial sheries a large proportion of the habitat in
the Patos Lagoon and in the southern Brazilian shelf acted as a de
facto spatial refuge since artisanal sheries were limited to
specic areas of the estuary of Patos Lagoon and adjacent coastal
shallow waters. Therefore the increasing competition for
resources between artisanal and industrial sheries and the
technological improvements (e.g. more powerful engines and
the use of sonars) undermined important factors that made
artisanal sheries resilient in the past, i.e. the limited time and
areas of resource exploitation. The shing technologies and
resource use practices in the past depended upon nature cycles,
through the inuence of the moon, the behavior of the sh, and
weather conditions. This concept is represented in Fig. 6 using
Hollings four phases model. Artisanal sheries were limited to
two phases in the life stages of the resources: the exploitation
phase, when species such as croaker, catsh, black drum and
mullet were entering the estuary, and the release phase, when
these species and pink shrimp were leaving the estuary to the

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1960s

Proportion total catch

0.5

Catfish
Mullet
Croaker
Shrimp

0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1

Proportion total catch

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
1990s
0.5
Catfish
Mullet
0.4
Croaker
Shrimp
0.3
0.2
0.1
0

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Fig. 5. Fishing calendar of artisanal sheries in the estuary of Patos Lagoon and
coastal waters during the 1960s and 1990s. The lines represent the proportion of
the total annual catch of each species obtained in each month.

Renewal
spawning &
recruitment

Conservation
growth &
reproduction

fish & shrimp

enter estuary

adults leave the

estuary

Climatic
conditions

Exploitation

Release
Artisanal fisheries

Fig. 6. Four phases model of the dynamics of sheries in the estuary of Patos
Lagoon prior to industrial shing, adapted to represent the phases where artisanal
sheries activities were concentrated (adapted from [16]).

shelf waters. The other two phases (renewal and conservation)

were not targeted by shers until technological improvements
and the industrialization of the sheries which made the
resources available to be exploited at any time and area.
Until recently, the pattern of resource use by artisanal sheries
in the estuary of Patos Lagoon served conservation purposes and
made resources less vulnerable to over-exploitation while helping
to maintain the cycle of resource renewal. The shing practices of
artisanal shers sustained a very productive shery from the early
1900s until the late 1980s [28]. For instance, in 1960 artisanal
sheries were responsible for over 80% of the total sheries
landings in southern Brazil (ca. 27,000 tonnes/year; IBAMA). The
above analysis also shows that these shing practices depended

749

on an informal knowledge system to deal with the dynamics of

the resources. Internal and external factors triggered changes in
the local resources management, which disrupted a pattern of
resource use that was a key for the sustainability of the artisanal
sheries.
Today, the resources are under intensive pressure, from both
the industrial and artisanal sheries, increasing the risk of
overshing and collapse of important stocks such as white
croaker and mullet ([32], Vasconcellos, pers. Comm., Federal
University of Rio Grande, Rio Grande). A vicious cycle has been
created, so that the more effort is increased, the less the catch. In
order to make up for dwindling prots, shing effort is further
enhanced, thus increasing the pressure on the stocks. The shers
now talk of periods of ever-increasing difculties for those who
depend on shing for their livelihood.
3.6. Vulnerabilities of shing systems
In the context of variability in shing practices, socialeconomic conditions, and the tactics used to face unfavorable
conditions in the small-scale shing systems in the estuary of
Patos Lagoon, several factors indicate greater vulnerability to
internal (e.g. resource exploitation) and external (e.g. market)
disturbances. By focusing on these factors, it is possible to identify
which systems are more or less vulnerable, and to compare their
characteristics. Table 3 present strategies used by each shing
system to face difcult situations. Table 4 present the primary
factors that mediate the vulnerability of these shing systems. It
is noticeable that most factors are common to every system,
indicating the need for solutions to be sought for each system
individually, but also for those that cover all systems together.
Drivers leading to vulnerability of the Patos Lagoon shing
systems include:
(1) Diversication and specialization: while systems 1, 3, and 6
showed little diversication, being restricted to the crab
shery, the other systems presented more robust forms of
diversication and specialization, at times including the crab
shery, at others using various shing methods or the
exploration of other environments, such as the coastal sea or
adjacent fresh waters.
(2) Trading and subsistence: systems 3 and 6 showed lower
vulnerability, as they do not depend exclusively on shing as
a source of income.
(3) Innovation and conservation: multiple strategies are used in
all systems, including activities not related to shing and
alternatives within artisanal and industrial sheries, both in
rural and urban areas. Such activities tend to be related to
the geographic location of shing communities.
(4) Fisheries policies and integration: the lack of specic public
policies at local, regional and national levels was identied.
This constrains local community-based initiatives as there
are no mechanisms to create shing governance systems
that address the vulnerabilities of communities in the face of
climate variability.
(5) Location and externalization: systems 4 and 6 have lower
vulnerability because these shers depend less on middlemen. System 4 stands out for having developed innovative
approaches demanding organization and persistence, which
bring greater benets to the communities. These approaches
include selling directly to consumers and forming a cooperative with hundreds of members.
(6) Changes in shing methods: similar changes in shing
procedures took place in every shing system, usually
increasing shing capacity, but often with the introduction

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Table 3
Variables describing strategies used by each shing system in the Patos Lagoon to cope with unfavorable situations.
Strategies

Fishing system 1

Diversication and Little diversication

specialization
Dependence
Great dependence on
shery resources
Innovation and
Other shery species
conservation
and casual jobs
Public policies and Unemployment
integration
benet
Location and
High dependence on
externalization
middlemen

Fishing system 2

Fishing system 3

Ocean shery

Little diversication/
crab shery
Great dependence on Lower dependence
shery resources
on shery resources
Work in industrial
Casual jobs in the
eet
city
Unemployment
Unemployment
benet
benet
High dependence on High dependence on
middlemen
middlemen

Fishing system 4

Fishing system 5

Fishing system 6

Use of several shing

methods
Great dependence on
shery resources
Other shery species
and casual jobs
Unemployment
benet
Relatively low
dependence on
middlemen

Fresh water shery

Little diversication

Great dependence on
shery resources
Casual jobs and work for
industrial eet
Unemployment benet

Lower dependence on
shery resources
Agriculture

Dependence. On industrial
shery and local colony

Unemployment
benet
Relatively low
dependence on
middlemen

Fishing systems are described in Table 2.

Table 4
Factors inuencing the vulnerability of shing systems in the Patos Lagoon.
Resilience and vulnerabilities Fishing system 1

Changes in shing practices

Uncertainties
Scale and social cohesion
Community selforganization
Adaptation and learning
mechanisms

Fishing system 2

Fishing system 3

Fishing
system 4

Fishing
system 5

Fishing
system 6

Vulnerability increases as a function of increased shing effort and weakening of informal agreements among shers
Vulnerability increases due to growing uncertainties in regard to harvest success, particularly for pink shrimp
Little cohesion
Little cohesion
Little cohesion
Medium
Little
Little
cohesion
cohesion
cohesion
Medium to decreasing
Medium to decreasing
Medium to increasing
Low
Low
Low
organization
organization
organization
organization
organization organization
Low level of adaptation and learning in every system, with loss of shing control mechanisms through agreements among shers; low
participation in Patos Lagoon Forum, with the exception of system 4

Fishing systems are described in Table 2.

of highly effective gear and excessive nets leading to a level

of exploitation greater than the stocks capacities for
renewal.
(7) Uncertainties: mainly related to the climate and to the lack
of appropriate public policies and governmental mechanisms. The uncertainties related to a good pink shrimp shing
season inuenced all shing systems, as shrimp is the most
important source of income in years of favorable weather.
Although less susceptible to climatic changes, the main
nsh harvests (i.e. croaker and mullet) are also poorly
predictable.
(8) Scale and social cohesion: with the exception of shing
system 4 we identied little social cohesion among artisanal
shers, with weak or non-existent self-organization, little or
no local leadership, and weak community-based institutions.
As a result, these shers have little capacity to represent
their interests when faced with opposition from other
stakeholders and are more likely to be affected by undesirable changes. The erosion of traditional shing practices and
shers compliance with informal rules and agreements
established by them in the Patos Lagoon has decreased the
degree of control over resource use, facilitating overexploitation.
(9) Community self-organization: shing system 4 is the best
organized, which is acknowledged by its members but also
by those from other systems. Such organization is reected
in demand-oriented street protests, better articulation within the Forum of the Patos Lagoon, the presence of local
leaders, and the creation of more protable trading procedures. In shing system 3, a stronger organization is
developing among shers with the support of the Catholic
Church (Pastoral da Pesca), already reected in the establishment of a cooperative including 21 shers. In the other
shing systems, traditional shing practices identied in the
past such as a rotation system for trawlers, monitoring of

shing spots, and maintaining distance among pink shrimp

nets, have been eroded.
(10) Adaptation and learning mechanisms: a small degree of
adaptive learning in unfavorable situations was found for all
shing systems. Control mechanisms for shing activities
through agreements among shers have been weakened,
making them more vulnerable to unfavorable events.

4. Conclusions
Artisanal shing communities from the Patos Lagoon system in
southern Brazil are highly affected by climatic events as they
depend directly on natural resources for maintaining their
livelihoods. The rain regime is an essential factor determining
the success of the pink shrimp shery which represents the most
important source of income for the shers in the Lagoon. Fishers
vulnerabilities are increased by the fact that they lack nancial
resources to sustain their families in the event of unfavorable
climatic conditions for sh populations.
Decreasing catches of the main shed species has been a major
concern of the shers from all of the shing systems. It causes
them to become more dependent on fewer species and decreases
their options to diversify. Moreover, shers perceive that the costs
of maintaining and renewing shing gears have increased more
than the income provided by the sheries products. Results show
that shing communities that diversify and have a higher degree
of self-organization are able to create ways to minimize their
vulnerabilities during adverse climatic conditions. Some shing
communities are characterized by having several sources of
income while others are impelled to switch strategies when their
most important resources are not available. Diversication can
take place by varying the species caught, working on industrial

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shing vessels, exploring fresh water resources, and having

alternative sources of income from agriculture and other
temporary jobs. Fishing communities which are relatively better
organized usually have more opportunities for commercialization
and, as a consequence, have a higher probability of coping with
periods of unfavorable conditions. A lack of opportunities and
processes for commercializing the captured species has also
increased the vulnerability of shing systems. Most shers rely on
middlemen for selling their sh products. Although the middlemen provide some assistance to shers in different ways (e.g.
transport to hospitals in case of emergency, lending money, etc),
shers feel obligated to sell their catches to specic middlemen
who can therefore control the prices of the sh. Fishing systems 4
and 6 are less vulnerable in this sense as shers have devised
strategies to depend less on middlemen. They sell sh and shrimp
directly to consumers in street markets or keep them in store
houses for commercial sale when conditions are more favorable.
Throughout the Lagoon system, however, only a few communities have developed adaptive mechanisms to cope with the
inuence of climate on sh resource abundance and availability.
Little external institutional support for small-scale shing communities, erosion of their traditional resource use systems (e.g.
informal rules and agreements among shers), and decreases in
sh stocks in recent decades are factors leading to a gradual
increase in the vulnerability of shers livelihoods. Although
governmental programs exist to assist artisanal shers with xing
shing gear, in addition to the employment benets which
represent important sources of income during shing closures,
the lack of public policies to deal with the impact of climate
variability and change on the livelihoods of shing communities
is a major threat to the social security of these communities.
Marginalization and little institutional support for the artisanal
shing sector was another issue detected by this study. Although
participatory multi-stakeholder/institutional bodies exist for
managing the sheries, the level of participation of shers in
such bodies has been weak and the role of these institutions in
empowering local communities has been limited.

Acknowledgments

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]
[11]

[12]

[13]
[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]
[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]
[22]

The authors would like to thank the shing communities of the

estuary of the Patos Lagoon for their support. This chapter
presents part of the results of the Project Fishing communities
vulnerabilities to climate change (Projeto PesqueClima) supported by the Brazilian National Council for Scientic and
Technological Development (CNPq) (Editais Universal 019/
2004, process number 477124/2004-6, and Technical Support
057/2005, process number 502090/2005-7) and the Foundation
for the Support of Research in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
(FAPERGS) (Edital PROCOREDES 2 001/2005, process number
05/1843.7).
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