The effects of market integration to fishing and fish consumption: a study in seven Amazonian communities of Brazil and Bolivia

Increased participation in the market economy by indigenous and extractive communities of rainforest inhabitants is known to causes changes in their use of natural resources. While several previous studies evaluated the changes provoked in hunting and agriculture, the effects on fishing and on fish consumption are often neglected, despite fish consumption is an important source of protein for these populations. This study, therefore, aimed to evaluate the effects of market exposure to fishing and fish consumption, and the consequences to the time budget of households. We departed from two hypotheses, the first one proposed that increases in market exposure should be associated with less time devoted to fishing, as well as a smaller amount of fish consumed by households. The second assumed that increases in market exposure should decrease the time that adult men devoted to fishing, whereas it would raise the time devoted to the activity by adult women and the elderly. To test that, we studied seven communities belonging to five indigenous and extractive societies of the Brazilian and Bolivian Amazon. Data came from an interview-based survey and two direct observation techniques (i.e., random-interval instantaneous sampling and weigh day) and were analyzed using descriptive analysis and mixed models with fixed and random effects. The results show that fishing and market activities as well the greatest proportion of income of the households are provided by adult men. Besides, increasing the time devoted to market activities was associated with reduced time spent on fishing by households and only by men. In contrast, higher levels of monetary income were associated with increased fish consumption by households and had no effect on the time dedicated to fishing for men, women and the elderly. Four factors may explain these results: (i) existence of trade-off in time, causing those who devote more time to market have little time to fish; (ii) changes in fishing gear and in the foraging area (means of transport), which allows increased consumption with less time devoted to the activity to the richest families; (iii) increases in fish purchase with concomitant reduced its sharing; and (iv) activities with higher levels of income do not necessarily involve big time spent. We conclude that the involvement of families in the market economy has differentiated or null effects on fisheries, depending on the indicators adopted. (AU)