FISHERY ACTIVITY IMPACT ON THE SOTALIA POPULATIONS FROM THE AMAZON MOUTH - Biology, Evolution and Conservation of River Dolphins Within South America and Asia - page 223

M ETHODS
The sampling was carried out from 1996 to 1997 (period one) and from 1999 to 2001
(period two) by monitoring fishing vessels that used drifting gillnets in Vigia and Bragança
(Pará state), Brazil (Figure 1). The fleet was characterized into two sample strata, according
to the length of the fishing vessels (longer and shorter than 12 m). Additional characteristics
of each vessel were noted and recorded including: ship length, hole storage capacity, engine
horse power, net length, mesh size of net measured between ends, net's thread type and
gauge, and number of fishermen on board.
Figure 1. The strata fishing sites for monitored fishing vessels within the Amazonian Estuary. Each
vessel used drifting gillnets.