13 Policy Matters.qxp

History, cculture aand cconservation

The Fishing Culture of Arraial do

Cabo

Arraial do Cabomeans literally “Hamlet on

the Cape”. In fact, Arraial do Cabo was not

one hamlet but two (Praia dos Anjos and

Praia Grande). Over time, it grew into four

neighborhoods with the third developing

into an Afro-Brazilian neighborhood after

the abolition of slavery in 1888 and a

fourth, Praia do Pontal, with the establish-

ment of Alkalis chemical plant and housing

for its upwardly mobile employees.

At the beginning of the 20th Century, the

deep soft sand and lack of transport sepa-

rated these hamlets. Now, increased urbani-

sation and paved roads have merged them

together, transforming them from independ-

ent entities into neighborhoods of a larger

municipality. The four main neighborhoods

get their names from the beaches with

which they are associated: Praia dos Anjos

(Angel Beach), Praia Grande(Long Beach),

Prainha(Little Beach), and Praia do Pontal

(Point Beach), indicating the importance of

the beach in the lives of its residents.

Today, although the municipality spans the

four areas, these distinctions are still rele-

vant.

Gear groups

Arraial do Cabo has a population of

approximately 26,000 people.^9

Though no official statistics exist,

based on the number of participants

in the different fisheries, there are

approximately 1,340 fishers including

shell-fishers (See Table 1). Fishing,

therefore, represents an important

source of employment and is an

essential part of the local economy.

Fishers distinguish themselves from each

other based on two primary factors, ethnici-

ty and gear type, and divisions between

fishers run deep. Long-term residents, who

call themselves cabistas, regard other

groups that have come in recent years to

fish as outsiders and call them caringos

(thought to be a variation on gringo). These

groups rarely fish together and generally

engage in different types of fishing activi-

Hook and Line Fishers 1,000

Purse Seiners 80

SCUBA fishers 20

Shell Collectors 90

Beach Seiners 150

Total 1,340

Table 1.Number of fishers in Arraial do

Cabo^10

Figure 5.Group size and ethnic divi-

sions among Arraial do Cabo fishers

(Source: Pinto da Silva, 2002)

Figure 4.Fishers and community members pull in the
net (Courtesy Patricia Pinto da Silva)