Fishing industry

This industry is carried on in the two main islands of the archipelago, and it is at Funchal, Caniço, Machico, Câmara de Lobos and Paul do Mar, on the south coast of Madeira, that it is most important. In 1914 there were 537 registered boats, with a tonnage of 1,222.17, expressly designated for fishing in our waters, and in the same year there were 519 boats employed in other maritime services, such as carrying passengers, bumboats, and transporting cargo between the various ports of the archipelago, etc., etc. The fishermen registered as such, who paid their poll tax and contributed to the Shipwreck Relief Institute (Instituto de Socorros a Náufragos), numbered 893, of whom 835 were adults and 58 minors. There were, however, other individuals licensed to carry on the fishing industry who took it up only when other work was lacking. With these added, the total of registered fishermen rose to 1648, of whom 1585 were adults and 63 minors.

The main fishing gear used in Madeira comprises nets, rods, the briqueira (a Madeiran hand line for bottom fishing), the agulheira (mid-water line for garfish), the gorazeira (deep-water longline for sea bream), the cherriola (vertical multi-hook deep-water line), the scoop net (peneiro), the jumping poles (varas de salto) and fish traps (covos) (see those entries). The fishing carried out farthest from the coast is for tuna and for scabbardfish (espadas). For the latter a very long line is used, from which short side lines or chambions branch off, each ending in a piece of wire that holds the hook. By fastening one or more of these rigs to the gunwale of the boat, a large quantity of scabbardfish can sometimes be taken in a short time. The scabbardfish generally lives at a depth of about a thousand braças.

Nets are used to catch chicharro, mackerel, sargos, pargos and other species that come to the surface of the water; the briqueira takes grouper, peixe-rei, pargo, alfonsim, bôca-negra, goraz, castanheta-do-alto, etc.; the agulheira, pargos, chicharros, mackerel, etc.; the gorazeira, deep-water salmonete, hake, pargo, bôca-negra, goraz, castanheta-do-alto, etc.; the cherriola, hake, wreckfish (cherne), etc.; the scoop net, castanheta, roncador and other small fish; and the fish traps, moray eels, salmonetes de rolo, octopuses, etc. The jumping poles are intended for fishing tuna and skipjack tuna (gaiado), which can also be caught with a line when they do not appear at the surface, and fishing rods serve to catch wrasse (bodiões), bogue (bogas), douradas, dobradas and many other species that do not grow large. Mackerel, chicharro, crab, limpet, squid (pota) and spider crab (aranha do mar) are widely used as bait, which often varies with the species being sought.

The so-called drag nets (redes de arrasto), which have lead weights along one side to make them hang vertically, are used with good results in fishing for species that live near the coast. Some fishermen give the improper name of peneiros to the small conical nets sometimes used in fishing for mackerel, chicharro, sardine and guelro (see that entry).

There is a fishing lamp (candeio), which the fishermen call griseta-cão, that is often used in night fishing (see Chicharro), and to deceive the fish there is the method of fishing known as de corrido, which we have already discussed on p. 320 of volume I of this Elucidário.

In 1910 Judice Fialho set up a tuna trap (armação, a fixed trap-net) on Porto Santo (‘holy harbour’), but it produced no results – because, it is said, the waters around that island are very clear. Some time before, in 1903, the late Commanders Manuel Gonçalves and Francisco de Araújo Figueira had tried to establish fixed traps for catching pelagic species, but they too were unsuccessful. This was despite the fact that a specialist and two trap foremen had come to Madeira to study the fishing conditions of our seas, and that a report submitted by the same specialist in October 1903 stated that large-scale fishing in the archipelago, using tuna traps, would be advantageous, naming the Ilhéu de Cima, off Porto Santo, and Machico as the best sites for placing gear for tuna fishing.

The Companhia Atlântica de Pescarias, which sought to exploit the fishing industry in the waters of the archipelago using gear unknown in Portugal, likewise obtained no encouraging results from its operations, and in early December 1921 the Government withdrew the licence it had granted the company for this purpose. In 1792 and 1802 there were two attempts to establish fishing companies in Madeira, but neither was crowned with success. In 1822 experienced fishermen even came from Sesimbra to direct the fishing operations, but this did not prevent the company founded that year from dissolving a short time later.

In 1909 a tuna cannery was established at Ponta da Cruz (‘point of the cross’), and in 1912 another at Paul do Mar. These ventures certainly benefited the fishing industry in Madeira, but they caused the price of tuna to rise, and the fish, formerly plentiful, often became scarce in the market. It should be noted, however, that if tuna has lately sold at 2, 3 and even 4 escudos (Portuguese currency from 1911, = 1,000 réis) a kilo, this is due more to the greed and lack of scruple of the dealers than to the constant demand from the fish-canning industry for the various species of the genus Thynnus found in the seas of the archipelago. (1921)

The fishing boats sometimes belong to the crews themselves, and sometimes to merchants with whom the fishermen share the income they earn from the sea. As for the fishing gear, it always, or almost always, belongs to the owner or owners of the boats.

Madeira’s fishermen are known not only for their daring and fearlessness at sea but also for the skill they show in their trade. Poorly favoured by fortune until only a few years ago, they now form a class that lives in relative independence, thanks to the excessive profit they make from selling fish and to their needs being few and easily met. (1921). The income of the fishing industry, which came to about 110 contos in 1914, 434 contos in 1920 and 977 contos in 1921, rose to over 1,155 contos between January and November 1922. This was not because the quantities of fish caught were much greater than in 1921 or earlier years, but because sale prices were much higher. Some fishing boats can bring back fish worth more than 3 contos in a single trip.

The tax on fish yielded 22,252.65 escudos in 1920, 50,080.94 escudos in 1921 and 59,257.96 escudos from January to November 1922, and the quantity of fish caught each year in the seas of the archipelago is probably between 1,500,000 and 1,800,000 kilograms.

Worship in the chapel of St Elmo (Corpo Santo) in Funchal and in the chapel of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception (Nossa Senhora da Conceição) in Câmara de Lobos is maintained chiefly by members of the fishing community. In 1769 the fishermen of Câmara de Lobos founded a mutual benefit society under the dedication of Saint Peter González, whose image stands on the altar of the said chapel of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception.

Among the fish caught in Madeiran waters, the finest are the cherne, the alfonsim, the salmonete-do-alto, the tainha, the peixe-galo and the abrótea. They are followed by the garoupa, the salmonete, the sargo, the goraz, the pargo, the boqueirão, the bodião, the atum avoador, the garfish (agulha), the espada, the cavala, the chicharro and the sardinha, which are also much sought after and appreciated.

The scarcity or abundance of certain species at certain times of year is explained by changes in the plankton (see Oceanography) due to little-understood causes. Just as grazing animals seek out green pastures because that is where they find their food, so fish seek the places where the organisms they feed on are plentiful. If the plankton fails, the fish that feed directly on it migrate to other regions, since without suitable food no species can live, whether on land or in the ocean.

To round off this subject, we reproduce the following information from the Dicionário Corografico do Arquipelago da Madeira:

We lack reliable and recent data on the activity of this industry here in Madeira. We shall present the statistics for the year 1909 offered by the illustrious engineer Adolfo Loureiro in his important work Portos Maritimos de Portugal, which were gathered at the Funchal Harbour Master's Office (Capitania do Porto do Funchal). The ports where the fishing industry is carried on are the following: Funchal, Caniço, Porto Novo, Aldonça, Santa Cruz, Seixo, Machico, Caniçal, Porto da Cruz, Faial, São Jorge, Ponta Delgada, São Vicente, Seixal, Porto Moniz, Ponta do Pargo, Paul do Mar, Jardim do Mar, Calheta, Fajã do Mar, Madalena do Mar, Anjos, Lugar de Baixo, Tabua, Ribeira Brava, Campanário, Câmara de Lobos and Porto Santo. It should be noted, however, that a large number of these ports are fishing centres of little importance, and some of none at all. The total number of fishermen then reached 2,482, of whom 1,566 were over 18 years of age, 726 were between 12 and 18, and 190 were under 10. The ports of Câmara de Lobos, Paul do Mar and Machico are comparatively very busy and the most important of all, with 575, 336 and 244 people respectively employed in the fishing trades. In number of fishermen these are followed by the ports of Funchal with 153, Porto Santo 156, Caniço 95, Caniçal 90, Santa Cruz 88, Calheta 82, etc. The boats engaged in this industry numbered 509, with a capacity of 1,268 tonnes and a value of 29,113,000 réis (old Portuguese money of account; 1$000 = 1,000 réis, 1:000$000 = one conto = 1,000,000 réis). The value of the catch was estimated at 126 523$265 réis, on which 5,696,572 réis was paid in tax.

Somewhat at odds with this information, the Elucidário Madeirense gives some official data for the year 1914. It states that the number of fishermen was then 893, 835 adults and 58 minors. There were, however, other individuals licensed to engage in this industry who did so only occasionally, giving a total of 1648 registered fishermen, of whom 1,585 were adults and 63 minors.

The tax levied throughout the archipelago on fish offered for sale produced 4,346.48 escudos in 1930, 3,040.40 escudos in 1931, 2,308.52 escudos in 1932 and 1,259.52 escudos in the first half of 1933.

In the important publication Estatística das Pescas Maritimas no Continente e Ilhas Adjacentes no ano de 1931....», we find the following data on our archipelago. In 1927 there were 446 sailing or rowing boats employed in this industry, with 1427 fishermen; in 1928 there were 481 sailing or rowing boats with 1735 fishermen; in 1929 the number of boats was 490, with 1,547 fishermen; in 1930 there were 21 motor boats and 519 sailing or rowing boats with 1,416 fishermen; and in 1931 there were 24 motor boats and 1444 sailing or rowing boats.