United States Department of the Interior, J. A. Krug, Secretary 

 Fish and V/ildlife Service, Albert ¥.. Day, Director 



Fishery Leaflet ?.67 



V.'ashington 25» D. C. 



SAO PAULO FISFIIIG gPUSTFY l/ 

 Fy Joiin F. Foot, Vice Consul 



Ij I 33 « .A. J* "ST 



MAR'3-1949 



WOODS HOLE, MASS. 



Fishing as an industry in the State of Sao Faulo is restricted inainly ' 



to inshore fishing in the coastal waters. Individual professional fishermen 

 or small associations accovmt for most of the catch, which goes primarily to ■. 

 the citj'' of Sao Paulo and other markets within the State. 



Many types of fish atcund in the vraters off the coast and. a manner of 

 organization far exploiting the opportunities offered has gradually been 

 evolved. Fut the fishing fleet is inuch too small and the facilities for receiv- 

 ing and distributing the fish much too inadequate for c fv.ll realization of 

 the possibilities. By the best current standards of efficiency, quantity of 

 production and hygiene, the Sao Faulo fishing indtistry continues in a rela- 

 tively baclcr/ard condition. 



. With 2,")07 iTofessional fishermen and a fleet of motor-driven fishing 

 vessels numb' ring 111, the industry brcught to the Sao Faulo markets in 19A5 

 an officially-estimated 10,227,988 kiicgram.s of fish valued at 16,033,713 

 cruzeiros (ahcut USf801,686) . The bulk of this catch vras consum.cd promptly 

 as fresh fish. The preserving and canning in Sac Paulo of seafood (except 

 sardines) and by-pi'-odticts is in only the incipient stages of development. 



vVhere fish is concerned, the State of Sao Faulo would seem to offer all 

 cf the best features of a consuming market, especially in its capital city of 

 nearly 2 million inhabitants and other urban concentrations: A population 

 .predominantly Catholiciyi nado up largely of Portuguese, Italian, Spanish and 

 other maritime elements; a low standard of living vJiich obliges most families 

 to apply from. 30 to at least 50 per cent of the family budget to food; and, 

 at the present time, high prices for meat and other foodstuffs. 



Indeed, the s\ipply of fish from local sources far from satisfies local 

 recuiremente . Dried, canned and frozen fish, with codfish and sardines the 

 principal item^s, is now being imported from Portugal, Norway, the United 

 States and other countries at the rate of 2,000,000 kilograms annually, v:hile 

 imports of fj.sh from Fio do Janeiro, Fio Grande do Sul and other States of 

 Frazil in 19/5, the latest year for vrhich data is available, exceeded 3,000,000 

 kilograms. 



Since 1939, fishing .in Frazil has been under the control of the Fish and 

 Game Division, Department of Animal Production, of the lldnistry of Agricultxire . 

 In Sao Faulo, the governmental organization parallels exactly that of the 

 Federal Government. The industry is presently regulated by the Code of Fishing 

 set down in Decroc-law No. 79A of October 19, 193S '' 



1/ A.mcrican Gonsii.late General Feport No. 131, Sao Paulo, Frazil, August 26, 19A7 



