A História da pesca artesanal em Moçambique: Ilha de Chiloane (1892-1991)

Abstract

This work investigates the socioeconomic value of artisanal fisheries in Mozambique and discusses the environmental impact caused by artisanal fisheries in Manica and Sofala from 1892 to 1991. The research focused its analysis on three administrative periods of the history of the central region of Mozambique, namely: Companhia de Moçambique (1892-1942), Estado Novo (1942-1974) and post-independence (1975-1991). Worldwide fisheries provide more than 15% of the annual protein intake per-capita. The annual contribution of artisanal fishing to the total fisheries in Mozambique is about 90% as well as about 3% for the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Fishing in Mozambique is practiced along a coastline of 2,750 km and in inland waters that occupy an approximate length of 20,000 km 2 . Until the end of the 20 th century, the gamboa was the predominant fishing technique used for fishing by many Mozambican fishermen. Fisheries allowed fishermen and their families to have access to food and proteins while providing financial resources for the local government by channeling fishermen taxes to the public revenue. Our research work allows us to state that artisanal fishing received limited financial and technical support because it was located on the periphery of the production system controlled by the State, both in the colonial period (1891-1974) which promoted private ownership of the means of production as well as in the period post-independence period (1975-1991) where the state promoted collective ownership of the means of production. During the colonial period, the main concern of employers and the state was to maximize profits with little investments on the labour conditions. In the socialist system of production that prevailed in the post-independence period, despite the state advocating an egalitarian redistribution of resources, primacy was given to a centralized economy based on state- owned enterprises to which the largest percentage of investments were channelled and, relegating the peasantry and artisanal fishing to low priority. In fact, during the three periods under review artisanal fisheries received little investment from the state if compared to the semi-industrial and industrial sectors. This study demonstrates that during the periods under review artisanal fishing had the largest share of people involved in fishing activities. Moreover, artisanal fishing provided the largest percentage of the national captured fish. Without the objective of obtaining high profits, artisanal fishing resisted and adapted to political-administrative and environmental contexts. For nearly a century, artisanal fishing was the cornerstone of rural communities’ livelihoods.