Effects of urban development on socioeconomic aspects of a tropical artisanal fishing community

Abstract

As urbanization exerts an influence on the socioeconomic aspects of a community, the aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of urbanization on the socioeconomic profile of artisanal fishermen in <i>Brasília</i> <i>Teimosa</i>, city of <i>Recife</i> in the state of <i>Pernambuco</i>, Brazil. Information was acquired through semi-structured interviews with 98 fishermen between January 2010 and February 2011. Local marine fishing was defined as an exclusively male activity, formed mainly by adults with a mean of 29.1 years of fishing experience. Most were married and had a low level of schooling. The father was the most important figure in the transmission of fishing knowledge. However, only 7.0% of interviewees cited having children involved in the activity. The majority of homes in the community were owned by the fishermen themselves and made of bricks and mortar. Fishing is economically and culturally important to the community, with 79.1% of fishermen depending exclusively on fishing as a source of income. As an urban community, <i>Brasília Teimosa</i> has social and economic advantages, but suffers from a number of social and environmental problems stemming from the disorganized occupation of the community. While generating economic benefits and social aggregation, urbanization also withdraws the youth from the fishing community, thereby endangering the continuity of local fishing activities.