Social and financial aspects of the artisanal fisheries of Middle Sao Francisco River, Minas Gerais, Brazil

The presence or absence of motorized boats, partnerships and multispecies c atches characterize the fisheries of Sao Francisco River, Minas Gerais, Bra zil. Fishing activity based on 109 interviews, carried out in the wet (high water: February and March) and dry (low water: July and August) seasons, w ith professional fishermen are described. Aiming to identify the fishery in come components, a covariance model was proposed, with the income as the re sponse variable, related to the factors: fishing ground, use of motorized o r paddle boat; seasonality; presence of fishing assistant, and the followin g covariates: capture in weight in the week Frier to the interview, fisherm an experience in yrs; and distance (km) travelled for fishing. The results indicated that the main contributions to income were the absence of an engi ne (because of high price of the fuel), the absence of a partner (because o f low capture) and the amount of fish caught by the fishermen.