QUALITY OF LIVING CONDITIONS AND QUALITY OF LIFE OF FISHERMEN FROM PEREQUE/GUARUJA, SAO PAULO STATE, BRASIL: A QUALITATIVE-QUANTITATIVE APPROACH

Abstract

The use of aspects of quality of life in the studies of fishing sustainability has shown to be a promising approach and the use of indicators permits an integrated analysis, allowing the inclusion of qualitative and subjective aspects. The indicators Quality of Conditions for Living Index (QCLI) and Life Quality Index (LQI) provide an appropriate analysis of the proximity or distance between the technical and the fishermen's views about their quality of life and allow the evaluation of public policies. These indicators, which have been applied in agriculture and mariculture, in environmental, social and economic dimensions, are being tested in small-scale fisheries, with the added governance dimension. The quality of life in the fishing community of Pereque, in the central coast of Sao Paulo, Brazil was studied through the LQI and QCLI indicators. Structured and open interviews were applied, as well direct observation of the local fisheries' reality. The environmental and governance dimensions received the worst scores, in both the assessments of community members and the technician. The economic dimension was well scored by both, but the social dimension was better scored by fishermen, demonstrating the value of local social connections. The small gap between LQI and QCLI reveals the closeness between the two views about the priorities in public policies investment in the community. The results were compared with other quality of life indices, IDHm and GINI index, revealing the good performance of the method used.