Brazilian aquaculture sum 15 500 producers and cultivates 77 species

First census of the sector has also identified a large number of hybrids in the country
by Luciana Franco

( We identified 77 species of fish in the country , of which 62 were grown in freshwater and 15 marine species in aquaculture - Photo : Assisi Hoffmann / Ed . Globe )

The first Census of Aquaculture developed in Brazil has just been made ​​available to the public by the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture ( MPA ) . Produced in 2008 , the document identified 15 500 fish producers on the continent , with 13 500 small , 760 medium and 33 large .

The most cultivated fish is tilapia producers and the universe , creating 8850 species , 41 % of them in the South, 31 % in the Northeast , 22 % in the Southeast, 3 % in the North and 3 % in Midwest .

In the area of ​​mariculture were 1580 registered producers , of which 1 270 small , 183 medium- sized and 63 large . In the country were found 77 species , 62 fish being reared in fresh water and 15 fish species in marine aquaculture .

The study also recorded a large number of hybrids being grown in the country , as tambacu (hybrid tambaqui with pacu ) , patinga ( hybrid pacu with pirapitinga ) tambatinga (hybrid tambaqui with pirapitinga ) and jundiara ( Amazonian catfish with cachara ) .

Among the highlights , the survey showed that there are 537 farms of catfish - fish common in Brazilian rivers - the Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina 481 others .

Furthermore, in Goiás cultured species diversity was greater than imagined . The fish farms were engaged in " round " - pacu , patinga , pirapitinga , tambacu and tambaqui - and other species such as cachara and matrinxã .

The bass , saltwater fish and brackish tasty white meat , has also been created on the coast of Santa Catarina , Sao Paulo , Rio de Janeiro , Paraná , Espírito Santo , Bahia and Rio Grande do Norte . In some cases, the cultivation of sea bass occurred experimentally in fresh water.

The cultivation of tarpon in Maranhão is also an unedited information because there was no record of the culture of this species in the country . The paper also found that breeders from several states supplying the fish catch and pay establishments of São Paulo and Minas Gerais, has been developed a specialized service in transporting live fish that ends up adding value to the producer , while also providing great diversity of species in these establishments .

The study revealed that 68 % of the cultivation of ornamental fish were concentrated in three states ( Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo ) . Data collection - developed by the General Coordination and Monitoring of the Fishery Information MPA - was held in two years , from October 2009 to October 2011 .

Source : Globo Rural magazine .