Limits and potential of commercial exploration of Uça Crab on the northern coast of Paraná - Brazil

Abstract

The uça crab is an important fishing resource in the economy of the northern coast of Paraná, however, no studies were found that reported the collectors' perception of the activity. In this context, this study aimed to organize a brief overview emphasizing the limits and potential of the commercial exploitation of the uça crab on the northern coast of Paraná. An exploratory survey was carried out between May and November 2024 with 32 collectors. The study revealed that all interviewees were men, the vast majority of whom were married or in a stable union (93.7%), with an average age of 48 years and had been working in crab collection since adolescence. The vast majority had low levels of education: 71.48% had not completed elementary school and a significant portion were illiterate (n = 25.44%). The average catch of 44 dozen crabs occurred in 5.9 hours per day of work in the mangrove swamp, and was repeated for 3.6 days per week, primarily from Tuesday to Friday so that trade could be easier on weekends. The average family income increased by 22.87% during the catching period. The positive factors reported were the extra financial income, high demand from buyers and the negligible cost of catching crabs, while the negative factors reported were the exhausting work, low sales price and the decrease in the quantity collected. Specifically for this group of workers, no specific health guidance programs or actions were found, nor is there any labor legislation to protect them. The precariousness of the activity has been “normalized” and the collectors remain invisible to the State. Finally, it is possible to consider that crab catching, although essential for the subsistence of many families, offers temporary income that is not enough to guarantee long-term economic security, and the change of scenery for the community itself is apparently a situation that is very difficult to reverse.

Keywords: Ethnoeconomics, Socioeconomics, Ucides cordatus, Mangrove, Crab Catcher

DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/15-2-01

Publication date: February 28^th 2025