Between risk and invisibility

labor precarity, occupational safety, and missing technologies in Amazonian artisanal fishing

Abstract

This article analyzes labor precarity in Amazonian artisanal fishing based on the health, safety, and occupational protection conditions of fishers in the municipalities of Amapá, Calçoene, and Oiapoque, in the far north of Amapá state, Brazil. The study departs from the hypothesis that precarity is expressed not only through informality, but through the absence of basic protective technologies personal protective equipment, notification systems, communication means, and access to health services revealing a structural dimension of the relationship between technology, labor, and law. Data were collected between 2014 and 2016 through in-person interviews with 491 artisanal fishers, vessel owners, and presidents of Fishing Colonies. Results were organized into four analytical dimensions: occupational risk exposure, technical and sanitary protection, work-related health complaints, and legal-social vulnerability. Findings indicate recurrent accidents during fish handling, rates of non-use of sunscreen exceeding 80% across all three municipalities, frequent reports of back and arm pain, and high labor informality, approximately 95% of respondents without a formal employment record and fewer than half with access to the fishing ban allowance. The discussion connects these findings to the legal framework governing artisanal fishers as autonomous workers, to Brazilian occupational health and safety legislation, and to international standards set by the ILO and FAO. It is concluded that the gap between formal legal recognition and concrete territorial protection constitutes the core of precarity in Amazonian artisanal fishing, and that addressing it requires place-based policies integrating occupational safety, health surveillance, legal education, and strengthening of local organizations.