Banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO: LUAN AÉRCIO MELO MACIEL

STUDY OF THE PRODUCTION CHAIN AND GENETIC CONSERVATION OF FISHING STOCKS 
OF ORNAMENTAL FISH IN THE RIVER BASIN TAPAJÓS

Acari, Aquariophilic, Bioeconomy, Traditional communities, Loricariidae

Brazil is an exporter of ornamental fish, mainly freshwater species, whose largest
production hub for the international market is the Amazon basin. In the western region of
Pará, the Xingu and Tapajós river basins represent an important production hub for
ornamental fish, whose main export product is the acaris or cascudos (family
Loricariidae). The aquarium hobby activity in the Tapajós hub has been gaining
prominence over the last decade and becoming an important source of economic
development through the ornamental fish biobusiness in the region. This project aims to
investigate and characterize the socio-cultural-economic aspects that outline the
architecture and relationships in the production-commercial chain of ornamental fish in
the Tapajós River region and to evaluate the taxonomic diversity and possible impacts of
this economic activity on the genetic integrity of the population of highly commercialized
species. To obtain data on fishing, artisanal fishermen from the Tapajós River region will
be interviewed through a questionnaire, information on the trade of ornamental fish will
be collected from wholesalers and local companies, and through documentary research
using Animal Transport Guides (GTA) and Fish Transit Guides for Ornamental and
Aquariophilic Purposes (GTPON) as sources. In addition, genetic evolutionary markers
will be investigated through classical and molecular cytogenetic techniques in a species
of fish that is heavily exploited in this region. In this way, the aim is to generate
information that can contribute to strengthening the ornamental fish bioeconomy in the
Tapajós River, enabling a significant increase in knowledge about the genetic biodiversity
of Amazonian fish, especially ornamental acari species, aiming to promote their
preservation and sustainability for the economy of the communities in these regions.