The adaptation of the strategies of the fisherman to the seasonality in the Amazonian attests the level of traditional ecological knowledge in relation to the fish and to the variations of the fishing in that environment, as it happens in other regions of Brazil. In that sense the present work aimed to analyze the use of the fishing grounds and the distribution of the fishing effort by the commercial fleet in relation to the hydrological cycle. Data of fishing landings and fishing expeditions of the Medium Madeira River region were collected daily, from June of 2003 until May of 2004, and submitted to the descriptive statistics. The results showed that there was a tendency towards an increase in the fishing effort during the rising water season for the vessels of the local fleet, to compensate for the decrease in the captured production. The fishing boats and motorized canoes presented medium values of CPUE 22.9 and 20.6 kg/fisherman*day, respectively. It was also shown that fishermen of motorized canoes utilized the stream and lake environments the most, where as boat fishermen relied mainly on the river environment.
Inland fishing; Fishing grounds; Fishing effort; Madeira River; Amazonian
