Why is the work of fishermen disappearing in the Copacabana area?

Every day at dawn, Manoel Rebouças tows his small motor boat from the sand into the sea of Copacabana: this corner of the most famous beach in Rio de Janeiro houses a colony of fishermen centenarian struggling to stay alive.

In a few minutes, your boat moves away from the coast, leaving behind the swimmers and other athletes who occupy this section of calm waters of the beach, next to the Fort of Copacabana, before the tourists arrive.

After sailing a few kilometers scanning the horizon, Rebouças turns off the engine and begins to collect the net that he has placed the day before, where several croakers and anchovies have been trapped.

“Shoals have decreased a lot, they no longer approach as before”laments Rebouças, 63, president since 2020 of the Z13 fishermen’s colony of Copacabana, founded in 1923.

predatory fishing (industrial or artisanal), “that is not sustainable”, together with the lack of interest of the new generations, it threatens the continuity of the profession, he maintains.

That is not the case of his son Manasi Rebouças, 34, who says he has the trade “in the blood”.

“Although fishing is scarce, the feeling of being in here renews energy”it states.

From there, a fishing point between the archipelago of the Cagarras Islands and the historic Fort, the noise of the ‘Wonderful City’ is barely a distant murmur within a panoramic postcard that includes the touristic Corcovado hills (home to the statue of Christ the Redeemer) and Sugar Loaf.

But Manoel and Manasi are not there to appreciate the dazzling sight.

“We have to quickly bring the fish to land for customers, who buy it for lunch”explains Manuel.

The story of a neighborhood

Back on the beach, they unload a box with several kilos of fresh fish, which they will sell at the Z13 headquarters, where some 50 fishermen work.

“We are regular customers. We know these people, we know that they leave early and come back with fresh merchandise, certainty of good quality”says Mauricio Thompson, a rowing instructor who works on the beach.

Tuna, tilapia, octopus, mussels… the menu is varied and is also sold on the fishmonger’s website, which boasts of supplying “The best restaurants” from the city.

The fishermen grouped in Z13, about 500 in total, work along the 36 km of coastline.

Its history merges with that of Copacabana, an iconic Rio de Janeiro neighborhood founded more than 130 years ago.

“When they named it Copacabana (referring to Our Lady of Copacabana, from Bolivian Lake Titicaca), the fishermen were already here”says Reboucas.

young apprentices

In addition to the presence of large industrial fishing boats, artisanal fishing is affected by waste contamination and oil activity in the region, says sociologist Lara Mattos, from the NGO Núcleo Canoas.

Together with the colony, this organization coordinates a training course for young fishermen, a project that is part of a compensation agreement signed between the Federal Public Ministry (prosecutor’s office) of Rio de Janeiro and the US oil company Chevron (part of which was later acquired by PRIO, the former PetroRio company) after a spill of more than 3,000 barrels of crude oil in an offshore field off the coast of Rio state, in 2011 and 2012.

The objective is to keep alive a trade that contributes to environmental preservation.

Fishermen “take into account the cycles of marine life, the maintenance of the biodiversity and the guarantee of resources for the next generationsMattos explains.

The first 20 students in the project will graduate this month. Among them is 19-year-old Izabely Albuquerque, who expertly sews a fishing net, never letting it get tangled in her long, sculpted fingernails.

“If it is unstitched, the fish escapes”Explain.

Gilmar Ferreira, 39, seeks to formalize a job that he has always done.

“My father is a fisherman, with my brother we have fished since we were children. With the course we have the opportunity to obtain a fishing license”account.

Source: AFP