Socio-cultural and economic relations among some groups of artisanal fishermen do not take work and free time as antagonistic entities. Conversely, such relationships celebrate similarities between fishing skills, leisure and life, which configure a societal whole. Artisanal fishermen from mar-de-fora in the beach of Suape, district of Cabo de Santo Agostinho, southern coast of Pernambuco, distant 50 km from Recife. This article seeks to reveal the work and free time ethic entailed in the daily tasks of fishermen in this beach, based on ethnographic research and life history of 13 fishermen. It was observed a work ethic that is confused with the morality of free time, since a restriction on one of them implies limits to the other. Therefore, for these men, being defined as free man or as captive is referred to the inseparable connection, in both practical and symbolic terms, between these two moralities, what is essential for fully qualifying as an artisan fisherman based on the dispensable character of work.
Work ethic; Dispensable character of work; Sociology of fishery; Rural Sociology; Artisanal fishermen