A. Begossi, FISHING SPOTS AND SEA TENURE - INCIPIENT FORMS OF LOCAL-MANAGEMENT INATLANTIC FOREST COASTAL COMMUNITIES, Human ecology, 23(3), 1995, pp. 387-406
Recent work has dealt with the local management of aquatic resources a
s an alternative to Hardin's (1968) ''tragedy of the commons.'' In com
munities with no formal management of resources, informal ownership of
fishing spots or conflicts with outside competitors may determine the
basis for future local management. In this study, I analyze the use o
f aquatic resources by five fishing communities on the Atlantic Forest
coast of southeast Brazil: Buzios Island, Puruba, and Picinguaba in S
ao Paulo State, and Jaguanum and Itacuruca Islands at Sepetiba Bay in
Rio de Janeiro State. Informal ownership of fishing spots, used for se
t gillnet fishing, is regulated by kin ties at Buzios Island. The arti
sanal fishers of Sepetiba Bay, especially those from Jaguanum Island,
have a conflict with Bay ''intruders,'' such as the shrimp and herring
trawlers. Two coastal communities, Puruba and Picinguaba, have confli
cts with fishing regulations from a State Park (Parque Estadual da Ser
ra do Mar), created in 1977. The transformation of populated areas of
the Atlantic Forest to Extractive Reserves might be a way to avoid con
flicts with intruders and with governmental agencies, and to involve l
ocal populations in management. Kinship rules at Buzios Island and the
territorial behavior of fishers at Sepetiba Bay may form a basis for
local organization.