Levantamento da Legislação Pesqueira Estadual e Federal, no Litoral e Estuário, nos Estados do Pará e Amapá

Abstract

It has been observed that research on the subject of fisheries legislation has been receiving new directions and changes in the approaches taken in the last decades. Some controversial issues such as child labor, property, the rights of the artisanal fisherman and the use and protection of water resources have been framing the most recent conflicts on the Amazon coast and estuary. On the other hand, the inefficiency of inspection, due to the scope of the geographic space to be inspected, has as a consequence the non-fulfillment of the norms and restrictions of the law in force, due to this the changes in the fishing legislation are necessary and urgent (SANTOS, 1997). In order to study these changes, I developed a work plan consisting of a survey of laws commented by critical observations. In the first stage of this work development, a documental research was made consisting of laws, decrees, resolutions, ordinances and normative instructions, in the Museum library, via Internet, and in the research centers specialized in this area with headquarters in Belém (CEPNOR, IBAMA, SECTAM and SEMA). In the second stage, the texts of laws found were organized from the oldest to the most current; critical comments were inserted and a conclusion and a final bibliography were elaborated. The work, despite having encountered some limitations, such as the lack of previous surveys and of authors who have done studies on fishing legislation, includes new material that has not yet been observed in recent years, lacking more time-consuming research on the subject of my work plan. The research revealed that Decree W 221/67 - the basis of the country's fishing legislation - deals with aquatic fauna only from the point of view of its capture for economic purposes, without showing much concern for the environmental aspect of the animals and plants that integrate it. On the other hand, Decree W 3.179199, belonging to the Leidos Crimes Ambientais, changed the concept of many infractions. If before, fishing during closed seasons, piracema, minimum size and quantities greater than allowed was an administrative infraction, today, these conducts constitute an environmental crime. The increase, in the last decades, of the time spent searching for fish or the distance traveled on each fishing trip can certainly be attributed to the increase of fishing pressure in the Amazon Basin, which needs care and research.