Situação da pesca de camarões na plataforma continental amazônica / Current situation of shrimp fishery on the amazon continental

Resumo A pesca de camaroes na costa Norte ocorre da foz do rio Parnaiba (02 o 53’S), ate a foz do rio Oiapoque (04 o 23’N), abrangendo os estados do Piaui, Maranhao, Para e Amapa, principalmente na faixa de profundidade entre 40 e 80 m. A pesca artesanal e praticada em aguas rasas, nos estuarios e nas reentrâncias por embarcacoes de pequeno e medio porte e as pescarias de alto mar sao realizadas por barcos industriais. O estoque vem sendo explotado em niveis moderados em anos recentes, embora tenha sofrido elevadas taxas de explotacao na decada de 1980, o que levou a uma reducao do tamanho da populacao. O rendimento maximo sustentavel foi estimado em 4.032 t/ano, para um esforco de pesca de 19.370 dias de mar, com tendencia a recuperacao dos estoques nos ultimos anos. O processamento dos camaroes tem inicio a bordo e e finalizada na industria, onde e classificado em categorias, congelado, embalado e estocado em câmara frigorifica, ate a expedicao para o mercado. A maior parte da producao industrial de camaroes e destinada ao mercado externo, na forma de caudas congeladas e uma pequena parcela e comercializada nos mercados local e nacional. Atualmente, apenas tres empresas de grande capacidade, sediadas em Belem, atuam no processamento de camaroes. As medidas de regulamentacao em vigor visam o controle do esforco de pesca e a protecao do recrutamento de juvenis nas areas de crescimento e de pesca. O fechamento da pesca na area tem sido estabelecido entre o ultimo e primeiro trimestre do ano, quando e maior a intensidade de recrutamento. Abstract The shrimp fishery is situated between the mouth of the river Parnaiba River (02 o 53'S) and the mouth of the Oiapoque River (04 o 23'N), comprising the coast of the states of Piaui, Maranhao, Para and Amapa. The fishery in shallow water and estuaries is conducted by small artisanal and medium wooden vessels and at high it sea is carried out by industrial vessels with steel of hull, operatingt mainly in depths between 40 and 80 meters. The stock has been exploited at moderate levels in recent years, although it has suffered high rates of exploitation in the 80’s, which led to a reduction in population size. The maximum sustainable yield, considered a long-term average, was estimated at 4,032 ton of tail per year for a fishing effort of 19,370 days at sea. In recent years, it is observed a tendency of recovering of the population biomass, but annual fluctuations are characteristics of the species. The flow of the Amazon River is the main environmental factor that governs the conditions of the coastal environment in the region, correlating with the fluctuation of the brown shrimp population abundance. The processing of the shrimps is initiated on board and finalized in processing industries at land, where they are classified into commercial categories, frozen, packaged and maintained in cold storage while awaiting the shipment to the consumer market. Traditionally, most of the industrial shrimp production is destined to the foreign markets as frozen tails. A relatively small share of the industrial production is sold in the local market and in other states of the country. In recent years, the number of shrimp processing companies has decreased and currently only three large capacity companies are in operation in the state of Para, all based in the capital city Belem. The regulatory measures in place are oriented mainly to the control of the fishing effort, with limitation of the number of boats operating, and protection of the recruitment of juveniles to growth and fishing areas, thorough a closed season between the last and first quarter of the year.