STORIES OF FISHERMEN

During the II Artisanal Fishing Seminar of the São Francisco River Basin, held in the city of Buritizeiro, Minas Gerais, the CHICO magazine listened to the accounts of four fishermen who are fighting for the preservation of the Velho Chico and the survival of the ancient trade.

At first sight

At first sight Love changed Fernanda Henn’s life. At 16 years old, she arrived in Bahia with her parents from Rio Grande do Sul. The family’s idea was to find a piece of land and enter the profitable world of agribusiness. However, the plan did not work out, with the Bahian backcountry dominated by latifundia. But Fernanda met a fisherman named Tonis. And soon they were married and moving to the historic city of Barreiras, on the banks of the Rio Verde Grande, one of the main tributaries of the Velho Chico in Bahia. “I was already 22 years old and I learned how to handle and care for fish, and I learned a little more about fishing,” she said, now 43 years old.

With sharp eyes and sensitivity, Fernanda soon realized that she could do more for her new home than just clean the fish her husband caught. “I saw that riverside, the fishermen treated the fish right there on the boats, but there was a lot of trash around,” she recalled. “So my husband and I started cleaning up the shoreline in a small part of the waterfront.” Over time, the couple focused on the strength of the children: “We started taking care of the facades, encouraging the children in the region to have that same care, buying and distributing sweets, so that they would create the habit of taking care of the river.”

With a keen eye and sensitivity, Fernanda quickly realized she could do more for her new home than just clean the fish her husband caught. “I saw that riverbank, the fishermen treated the fish right there on the boats, but there was a lot of garbage around,” she recalled. “So my husband and I started a simple cleaning of the shores, in a small piece of the waterfront.” Over time, the couple focused on the strength of the children: “We started taking care of the facades, encouraging the children in the area to have this care as well, buying and distributing sweets, so that they could develop the habit of taking care of the river.”

From the grassroots work, Fernanda and Tonis decided to think big: “Developing a work of awareness, environmental education, and above all, fighting for the rights of fishermen.” By that time, she was nominated by the president of the local fishermen’s colony to join the Rio Verde Grande Committee. From then on, she rolled up her sleeves, helping to found the Association of Artisanal Fishermen of the Rio Grande Basin (Apariogrande). Currently, she is the president of the association. “The association comes precisely with this objective, focused on environmental issues, access to possible funding calls, fighting for rights, awareness, seeking to do a differentiated work in the colonies,” she enumerated. “We have not yet made the cooperation agreement with the National Social Security Institute (INSS). We intend to do so next year, since we have just arrived, we are learning and we don’t want to lose focus on the river.”

In addition to leading the association, Fernanda also became a fisherwoman. “I started enjoying it and learning how to fish, I like to handle the fish, scale it, sell it.” The couple usually share the work on the boat. Sometimes she pilots the boat while Tonis throws the net. “I am enchanted by the art of throwing the net, weaving the net, so I got involved and started fishing,” she said. “The art of fishing, the science I learned from those fishermen in the Northeast, for example, how beautiful the Surubim is during spawning season, I had never seen a Curimatá growl, jump during the spawning run, and I saw all of this in Barreiras.”

According to Fernanda: “This is our fight, and we are in the seminar to learn, expand knowledge, work, and mainly to share what we have learned with the fishermen, so that they can be agents of change, to transform the reality of the fisherman, to value artisanal fishing, respect for the category, it is a matter of raising awareness, organizing the class and mainly fighting so that our river is a healthy river.”

From father to son

““It wasn’t fishing that came into my life, it was I who came into the life of fishing,” said José Fausto, a fisherman and resident of Brejão, in the municipality of Brejo Grande, in Sergipe. Son and grandson of fishermen from the lower São Francisco, he inherited the trade, from which he supported seven children. He currently chairs the Z-7 fishermen’s colony, headquartered in Neópolis, which covers five municipalities in eastern Sergipe.

“In the colony, I always strive to do my best for the associates because they are my bosses. It is through their monthly contribution of 25 reais that the board’s salary and seven other employees with signed contracts are paid,” he said.

The colony has a long history, founded in 1931. “Because it has more than 3,500 fishermen, the need for assistance is very high, and we try to provide this assistance in each village so that fishermen can save the money that would be spent on transportation,” he emphasized. “I hope that when the term of office or life ends, we can have contributed to the fishermen in the region.” At the association’s headquarters, fishermen have free weekly medical and dental care, provided through their monthly payment. “We want to take care of the fishermen and their families.”

According to José Fausto, “there is no environment without society, and there is no society without the environment. Therefore, we need greater environmental education, including in relation to shrimp farming in the region.” He added, “Fishing is always fluctuating. Now, in October 2022, in Brejo Grande, we are in a relatively good period, but only for those who go to sea. Those who used to catch 100 kilos per week are now catching 200 kilos per day, but those who do not go to sea suffer because fishing is scarce in the river. We live like this, in this natural imbalance.”

The large family

Known as Naldinho, Arnaldo Alves has never lived far from the São Francisco River. A resident of Lagoa Grande, Pernambuco, at eight years old he already had his first canoe to fish in a local pond. He spent his adolescence and youth fishing. And as an adult, he decided it was time to fight for the Old Chico. First, he joined the fishermen’s colony of Sobradinho, Bahia. Then, with the difficulty of transportation, he transferred to the colony of Santa Maria da Boa Vista, in Pernambuco. Also, without much success in this second affiliation, he opted to found the Z-39 colony, in his own municipality, Lagoa Grande. Currently, he chairs the association, which has an average of 600 members.

With the exception of one daughter who is a teacher, the whole family followed Naldinho’s path. “Three of my four children, my wife, all are fishermen. They make the fishing nets, they are all very smart for fishing,” he commented, proudly. At 61 years old, Naldinho has just retired. He and his wife: “We paid 15 years of INSS (Brazilian Social Security), my wife, who is 55 years old, also 15 years of INSS paid, we applied for retirement, and within 90 days, we received the notification that we were retired.”

Even though he has already retired and after 12 years of managing the colony, Naldinho insists on continuing to lead the fishermen’s colony of Lagoa Grande. “Today I continue as the president of the colony, and the ‘boat is heavy’ there, but we always talk to everyone, gather information from fishing colleagues, including being here, with 26 more people from our region, to perform good work for the member fishermen.”

The Golden Egg-laying Hen

“What we can say is that the São Francisco River is a great saint in the life of a fisherman. We live by the miracle of this river,” said Raimundo Ferreira with authority. In 1986, he started fishing in the region of Três Marias, Minas Gerais. Before that, he had been a charcoal burner, farmer, and carpenter. “I had several experiences and came across fishing in recent times, from which I have supported my family,” he said.

According to Raimundo, fishing in the Upper São Francisco River has become a daily struggle in recent times: “If someone asks me if it’s possible to survive, I say yes, but it’s not easy.” In 36 years of work, he managed to build his own house and says that since becoming a fisherman, he has had a good life. Over the years, he has experienced moments of abundance and moments of scarcity. “Of course, we experience delicate moments due to the water crisis, pollution, devastation, deforestation, all of which provide some water scarcity, but we overcome it, living day by day in this struggle,” he evaluated.

He added, “The São Francisco River serves thousands of families, so we defend it tooth and nail. Our obligation is to take better care of it every day. It is the golden egg-laying hen for fishermen, and we must never lose those eggs.” With fishing becoming more difficult, Raimundo looked for an alternative by opening a small fish farm, where his children also work. “Jobs were too hard to come by, few job opportunities. I had a son and a grandson who fished with me, and today, they also work on the fish farm, raising and treating fish, and I manage it. I have a store and sell this fish. Our life is to thank God for our Old Chico,” he said.

By Karla Monteiro

On the banks of the São Francisco River, adorned by colonial houses, the beautiful Piranhas has become a backdrop for major film and television productions, blending fiction with the real-life of the inhabitants of the Alagoas city. This year, the cast of “Mar do Sertão” (Sea of the Hinterland) passed through there.