The payment of compensation in the closed season in Brazil: a spatio-temporal analysis of the last five years*

The policy of a closed season with compensation consists of the payment of a minimum wage to the artisanal fishers during the months in which fishing is prohibited. Despite its relevance, there are reports of illegal practices in this system and, as such, this study aimed to carry out an assessment of the closed season compensation payment (CSC) from 2016 to 2020. Data were obtained from the official Federal Government web page. They were tabulated and thematic maps were prepared with the value of the CSC payed by state of Brazil and by municipality of the two states that collected the most benefit. The number of fishers in each state was also assessed. Between 2016 and 2020, US$ 2,955,844,475.74 was provided in the form of CSC. The largest part (47.7%) was paid to the states of Pará and Maranhão. In Pará, Cametá received the greatest amount, while in Maranhão, the municipality of Viana received the greatest amount. The number of fishers increased 58% over the years and, in 2020, 733,422 were registered. The closed season is an important management tool, but it needs to be supervised, otherwise, it may present infringements.