Prainha do Canto Verde is a small fishing community on the North East coast of Brazil in the state of Ceará, approximately 120 kilometres south of Fortaleza. Locals date the village from the 1870′s when Joaquim “Caboclo” and his wife Filismina built their home near the beach and raised their 12 children.
In 1928 3 local fishermen made the newspapers when they sailed a jangada from Prainha to Belem in Pará. Known as “The Raid” the voyage was carried out to complete a bet.
In 1976 a land and property developer claimed to have bought a large area of Prainha, the residents disputed his claim and began a long legal land rights battle.
In 1993, to highlight the land rights issue and the threat of predatory lobster fishing, four fishermen sailed a jangada known as the SOS Sobrevivência from Canto Verde to Rio De Janeiro, being given logistical back up by two young women who mirrored the boats route by car. The journeys by land and sea were unprecedented and took 74 days to complete.
In 2006 the Supreme High Court judges ruled on the land rights issue with a unanimous decision in the residents favour.
In June of 2009 President Lula signed a decree making the area an Extractive Reserve and a 54km Marine Protected Area. Many believed that with the creation of the reserve, the fight to preserve the land for future generations was over, unfortunately that has not proved to be the case and a new court battle has begun.
The majority of the 1000 population earn their living from fishing (or a related activity) but tourism and arts and crafts form an important additional income source. All of the businesses are owned by natives of the village and their families, thus ensuring that the income brought to the village by tourism, remains in the village.
My husband Neu is a fisherman and uses his jangada to fish the shallow coastal waters using traditional fishing techniques. Dependant on the season his catch will (hopefully) include king prawns, lobster, king mackerel, snapper, bonito, jacks, rays and cumurupim (tarpon) to name but a few.
©Claire Pattison Valente 2010
