Oyster extractivism in the Amazon: characterization and perception of extractivists on the conservation of natural banks

The objectives of this study were to identify extractivists working in the region of Curuçá, Pará, Brazil, to evaluate the perception of these workers on the conservation and exploitation of natural oyster stocks. Applying snowball sampling, semistructured questionnaires were applied in the period from September 2019 to January 2020, resulting in 38 interviewed extractivists. Of the 38 respondents, 50% were older than 40 years, 78.9% were men, and oyster extractivism was the main source of income for 65.8%. In addition, 94.7% lived in the city of Curuçá, and 36.8% worked as extractivists for 7 to 11 years. The majority reported never having received any training on oyster collection or oyster bank conservation. The extractivists reported that their greatest challenge was collection sites. Lack of training was a risk factor for collecting during the rainy season (OR=1.52), while having received training was a protective factor for collecting seeds (OR=0.64). Additionally, 94.7% of the respondents reported an increase in oyster mortality in the rainy season. Encouraging extractivists to organize into associations or cooperatives with the support of public development policies and providing training focused on sustainable extraction can contribute to the conservation of natural oyster banks by preventing damage to the natural ecosystem.