Updated October 22, 2002

The Commercial Fisheries of the lower Amaxon: an Economic Analysis
                    Fisheries Management and Ecology, 2001, 8, 253-269 (by O.T.Almeida et al)

• Amazon Fisheries have undergone profound changes over the last 30 years (result of technological innovations which increased the catch and storage capaticty of fishing vessels)
• commercial fishery: one of the principal sectors of the regional economy - empolying more than 30,000 people, generating US$ 100-200 million annually
• characteristic of the fleet: homogeneity of fishing technology and the unspecialized nature of most fishing boats
• smaller boats exploit a larger variety of species than larger boats, both in tgerms of number of species captured and in terms of the relative importance of each species in the total catch
• 20 % of the fishermem: combined fishing with farming or ranching
• 80% of the fishermen: full-tme fishermen (fishing=sole family income source)
• fleet is dominated by independent boat owners (=90%)
• Cost structure of fishing operations: 30%-63% = fisherman payment, 8-19%=fuel, 12-17%=ice, 3-7%=gear maintanence
• profit per trip: US$53-520 (small to large boat)

Total income genterated by the fleet is estimated at US$5.5 million dollars (US $ 3 million goes to fishermen and US $ 3.5 million to boat owners)

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