A caboclo society in the middle rio Negro basin : ecology, economy, and history of an ornamental fishery in the state of Amazonas, Brazil / Gregory Prang.

Tese (Ph.D.)--Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, 2001.

This dissertation describes the socioeconomic organization of the ornamental fishery of the Rio Negro, Amazonas, Brazil and its articulation to the global aquarium trade; understood in historical context, provides ethnographic data which are comparable to those of other areas of Amazonia, and which demonstrate the lack of social and enviromental uniformity in the region; describes the various myths of the social agents that have some social, economic, political or cultural association with wild caught ornamental fishes from the Rio Negro. It is argued that in order to determine the possibility of sustainable development of ornamental fish resources from the Rio Negro Basin, it must be understood that mercantile capitalism mediates the global and local histories, and at the local level, petty commodity production and patron dependency are the relevant socioeconomic variables. A linkage approach is employed where the specific level of analysis are based on the social and economic factors encountered during the journey of the fishes themselves. The global historical trajectory of ornamental fish keeping and the ornamental fish industry is described and articulated to the local historical trajectory of the midlle Rio Negro basin. For the middle Rio Negro basin, the historical process of aviamento and petty commodity trade is outlined, providing the context for understanding the socioeconomic conditions that made the extraction of ornamental fish possible. Particular attention is paid to the variety of petty commodity traders, patron - client relations, and the role of debt bondage and coercion in the relations of production. The ethnographic aspects of the ornamental fish trade are presented by following the journey of the cardinal tetra (Paracheirodon axelrodi), beginning with a description the physical geography and reproductive biology, followed by analysis of the social, political, and economic context of each phase of the commercial process. Ecologically based myths regarding fish mortality and stock reduction, as well as socioeconomic myths related to characterization of the trade, exporters, patrons, and the sustainability of the ornamental fishery of the Rio Negro are evaluated and criticized. It is concluded that the cardinal tetra collection is ecologically sustainable, but not economically.