Conhecimento tradicional no manejo do pirarucu Arapaima gigas (Schinz, 1822) na ilha da Paciência, município de Iranduba, Amazonas

Abstract

The pirarucu Arapaima gigas is a fish of great social and economic importance and its management is one of the strategies to promote resource conservation, thus contributing to a significant increase in species managed lakes. This study aimed to understand the community management of pirarucu Arapaima gigas, on the Paciencia Island – Iranduba city, Amazonas, based on the ethnoknowledge of the participating fishermen. The primary data collection was carried out through semi-structured interviews, applied individually, with objective and subjective questions about the management of the historical, biological and ecological aspects of the arapaima and perception of fisherman on the activity. Descriptive statistics analysis, consensus analysis - fidelity index and the use of the cognitive table were performed. We interviewed 19 fishermen participating in the management. In the fishery, the target fish and the use of the fishing tackle are related to the period of the hydrological cycle.On the ecological aspects of the pirarucu, fishermen described several food items among them fish, crustaceans and molluscs, the pirarucu makes displacement between the environments river, lake, igapó according to the seasonality, changes its behavior during the spawning period. Most of this information is in agreement with the scientific literature consulted. The fisheries agreement was a fundamental tool for carrying out the management and contributing to the reduction of conflicts. Fishermen say that the number of pirarucus is increasing, which is confirmed by the result of the counts. In the management, the surveillance system was indicated as the worst indicator and the commercialization was the best. Therefore, as the management of the pirarucu is an adaptive management, the knowledge of these fishermen is significant for deepening questions of the management of the pirarucu of the island, since they can provide improvements in the activity.