Socioeconomia e qualidade de vida dos pescadores profissionais do entorno do Parque Nacional de Ilha Grande MS/PR, Brasil

Abstract

This research investigates the socioeconomic conditions and quality of life of professional fishers operating in the surroundings of Ilha Grande National Park, located in the Upper Paraná River Basin, a region marked by profound environmental transformations resulting from river damming and the establishment of protected areas. Developed in a multipaper format, the dissertation articulates two complementary empirical studies based on interviews with 59 professional fishers, combining descriptive analysis, content analysis, and multidimensional perceptual assessment. The first study characterizes the socioeconomic and productive profile of these fishers, highlighting the aging of the category, low educational attainment, economic dependence on fishing, declining income, and changes in fish composition associated with historical damming processes along the Paraná River. The second study deepens this analysis by evaluating fishers’ quality of life across economic, social, and environmental dimensions, comparing the fishers’ own perceptions with assessments of institutional governance. The findings reveal significant divergences between these rationalities, indicating that quality of life cannot be understood through isolated or exclusively institutional indicators, but rather as a multidimensional construct shaped by environmental, economic, and social factors, as well as by traditional fishing knowledge. By shedding light on tensions between environmental conservation, public policies, and traditional ways of life, this research contributes to the debate on professional fishing in protected areas and to the formulation of management strategies that are more responsive to the social realities of fishing communities.