Rayssa de Lima Cardoso

Recent years have seen a significant increase in the number of patents related to products and/or processes from aquatic organisms. Therefore, this paper aims to identify patent documents related to fishery resources available in the Brazilian patent system of the National Institute of Industrial Property. The research involved patents deposited/provided between 1999 and 2019, with the search in the system occurring through the descriptors: fish(s), mollusk(s), crustacean(s), and algae(s). A total of 363 records were found, where the group of fish presented the highest representation (40%), followed by algae (35%), crustaceans (14%), and mollusks (10%). The apex of 34 patent applications was found in the year 2011. Moreover, the results showed that the inventions registered are directed mainly to food, drugs, biocides, cosmetics, cultivation, processing and beneficiation, water treatment, patents for sustainable technologies (green patents), and biotechnology. Brazil holds most patent applications, followed by the United States of America (USA), which focuses its patent applications mainly on algae and fish. Considering the Brazilian biodiversity and the country's technological development in recent years, Brazil needs to expand its technological autonomy and competitive capacity in the aquaculture and fisheries sector, mainly through the strengthening of R&D and innovation activities.

No litoral ocidental maranhense a pesca apresenta grande relevância social e econômica. Neste artigo objetivou-se caracterizar a pesca artesanal do município de Carutapera (Maranhão, Brasil), realizando aplicações de 50 questionários, voltados ao entendimento sobre o perfil socioeconômico dos pescadores e pescadoras, das estruturas de pesca e da comercialização do pescado. Os resultados revelaram que 70% eram do gênero masculino com média de idade de 43 anos. No que concerne ao nível de escolaridade dos pescadores e pescadoras entrevistados, 36% relataram ter ensino fundamental completo, dos quais 28% iniciaram o ensino médio e não terminaram; e 36% possuíam apenas o ensino fundamental incompleto. O índice de analfabetos foi de apenas 2%. A pesca era praticada com exclusividade por 52% deles, enquanto outros exerciam atividades como: construção civil (27%), conserto de redes de pesca (13%), agricultura (6%) e carpintaria (2%). Em relação à naturalidade, 60% eram naturais do estado do Maranhão e 40% do estado do Pará. O apetrecho de pesca mais utilizado nas capturas foi a rede de emalhar (24%) e os menos utilizados a zangaria (2%) e a faca (2%), esse último usado principalmente para a remoção de ostras. Quanto ao tipo de embarcação, a maioria dos pescadores e pescadoras artesanais faziam uso de canoas motorizadas e barcos de pequeno porte a motor, com comprimento variando de 8 metros a 11 metros. Entre as espécies mais capturadas está a pescada amarela (Cynoscion acoupa), espécie que tem um alto valor comercial, porém outras como a cururuca (Micropogonias furnieri) e peixe-pedra (Genyatremus luteus) são espécies capturadas durante todo o ano com boa produção. Um dos grandes problemas relatados é a falta de estrutura organizacional, evidenciando o descaso que se encontra a pesca artesanal no município.AbstractIn western coast of Maranhão, fishing has great social and economic relevance. In this article, aimed to characterize the artisanal fishing in the municipality of Carutapera (Maranhão, Brazil), using 50 questionnaires to understand the socioeconomic profile of fishermen and fisherwomen, fishing structures and fish trade. The results showed that 70% where male with an average age of 43 years. Regarding education level, 36% reported having completed elementary school, of which 28% started high school but did not complete it; and 36% had only incomplete primary education. The illiteracy rate was 2%. Fishing was practiced exclusively by 52% of them, while others had activities such as: civil construction (27%), repairing fishing nets (13%), agriculture (6%) and carpentry (2%). Regarding naturalness, 60% were from Maranhão state and 40% were from Pará state. The most used fishing tackle in the catches was the gill net (24%) and the least used were the zangraria (2%) and the knife (2%), the latter mainly used for the removal of oysters. Regarding type of vessel, most fishermen and fisherwomen used motorized canoes and small motor boats, with a length ranging from 8 meters to 11 meters. Among the most caught species is acoupa weakfish (Cynoscion acoupa), a species that has a high commercial value, but others such as whitemouth croaker (Micropogonias furnieri) and torroto grunt (Genyatremus luteus) are species captured throughout the year with suitable production. One of the major problems reported is the lack of organizational structure, showing the neglect of artisanal fishing in the municipality.

This study aimed to compare biochemical and histological biomarkers in oysters to identify impacted areas in a Brazilian port region. Oysters belonging to the Crassostrea genus were collected in two points in São José Bay (Brazil): (A1) Curupu Island (control area) and (A2) Braga Port (impacted area). Digestive glands from oysters were used to analyze the enzymatic activity of glutathione S-transferase and Catalase. The gills were used for standard histology analyses. Water samples were collected for metal analyses. Our results indicated that there was a change in the activity of oyster GST and CAT enzymes, especially in A2. Histological gill analysis indicated more frequent changes in A2. The analyzed metals presented higher values in A2. The results of this study suggest that enzymatic alterations, histological changes and higher metal values are indicative of initial stress caused by contaminants in São José Bay, especially in the port region.

The quality of aquatic environments all around the world is being altered by different human activities that represent direct threat to the ecological system and the aquatic biota. This study aimed to evaluate the occurrence of histological and genotoxic alterations in Prochilodus lacustris as indicators of anthropic impacts in a lacustrine environment in northeast Brazil. The histological alterations were evaluated using the histological alteration index, and the genotoxic alterations were detected using the micronuclei test, at three sampling stations (S1, S2 and S3). The gills presented lesions with three stages of severity, with mild lesions more frequent in the specimens collected at station S1. Mild hepatic tissue lesions were the most frequent type in both areas. Micronucleus analysis showed that station S3 was the most affected. The biological responses observed indicated that the fish are under influence of environmental changes. It is important to highlight that the organisms collected at station S3 had a more compromised health status.

The fish assemblage structure in a port area in São Marcos Bay (Amazonic coast) was evaluated based on the spatial and temporal distributions to identify potential changes in response to anthropic pressure increases associated with industrial and port activities in region. The samples were taken between March 2011 and November 2015. The ichthyofauna was represented by a total of 56 species, distributed in 15 orders and 29 families. Captures were dominated by Genyatremus luteus (Bloch, 1790), but Sciades proops (Valenciennes, 1840) was the most representative in terms of biomass. Seasonal distributions of fish assemblage did not reveal significant differences. However, there was a difference between catch sites, abundance, biomass and Shannon diversity index was higher in the Site 1 and evenness in Site 4. The analysis NMDS and the test ANOSIM between months and between sampling sites, based on species composition, revealed a seasonal differentiation associated with the rainy and drought months, as well as spatial differentiation, in function of a depth gradient and hydrodynamics, resulting from greater distance from mangrove areas. The low diversity recorded may be a reflection of port activities that historically occur in the area investigated. However, there was still a maintenance of regional diversity throughout the period under analysis. Thus, temporal and spatial scales become important for the detection and understanding of fish biodiversity in an Amazonian estuary, reflecting, the importance of mangroves for the maintenance of the ichthyofaunistic diversity in the area. In this context, the present study may subsidize possible conservation projects in the area since information of this nature is almost non-existent for estuarine fish from the Maranhão Amazon.