STRUCTURE OF THE INDUSTRIAL FISHERY IN SANTA CATARINA STATE

Abstract

The structure of the industrial fishery center of Santa Catarina changes continuously due to several biologic, economic, social and politic factors. It is very important for suitable fishery administration and economic decisions to get information about the structure of fishery industries and about the variations of the system, such as changes on the catch and fleet dimensions. Thus, the objectives of this work was verify the annual catch variability from 1983 to 1990, and identify the nowadays physical structure of the industrial fishery section of Santa Catarina. The information base was obtained from periodical visits to the fishing industries, and also from historical data available to analysis. The industrial sector is the main source of fishery products in Santa Catarina. In the last years the industrial fleet have been increasing the production, while the artisanal production, has been decreasing continuously. The purse seine, paired and shrimp trawlers are the most numerous fleets. Most of the ships are 17 to 27 meters length and operates with 5 to 15 fishermen onboard. In the Santa Catarina state the main fishery harbor structures are located in the Itajaí and Navegantes cities. Despite the general increase of fishery production, there are several problems waiting for solutions: a) It is necessary a diversification of the products to human consume; b) There is a lack of technology in the product processing; and c) The careless management onboard results in a low quality fishery product.