Monteiro, M.A.B, Oliveira, F.P., Araújo, J.N., Fernandes, M.E.B. 2014. Productive Chain of the Mangrove Crab (Ucides cordatus) in the Town of Bragança, in the Northern Brazilian State of Pará (Amazon Region). In: Green, A.N. and Cooper, J.A.G. (eds.), Proceedings 13th International Coastal Symposium (Durban, South Africa), Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 70, pp. 443–447, ISSN 0749-0208.
The present study focuses on the production chain of the mangrove crab (Ucides cordatus), one of the key animal species in the mangrove forests of the Brazilian Amazon coast. The study began in the principal restaurants of the town of Bragança, in the northeastern extreme of the state of Pará, from which the principal components of the productive chain were identified, working back along this process until the primary producers, the crabbers, were detected. Questionnaires were applied each month throughout an annual cycle. The present study also identified the marketing processes (formal and informal) adopted by these social actors and analyzed the profit margins generated by the sale of the crabs at different stages in the process. All the social actors that compose this productive chain were monitored over an annual cycle. The Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric analysis of variance was used to evaluate the level of variation in the parameters analyzed. The results indicated that the U. cordatus productive chain in Bragança is composed of six social actors–crabbers, crabmeat pickers, primary and secondary traders, restaurants, and final consumers. While this chain is ramified, it is not complex, being formed by primary producers, wholesale and retail markets, and final consumers. All these levels are linked by the flow of capital, material, and information.
