Q & A: Fishing

Pennísula de Maraú, large freshwater lake on Peninsula Highway BR-030-

Questions from friend Neil in the US about the fishing on the Península:

Is the fishing any good?

........... Investors plan to set up a deep sea sport fishing center soon with 50' sportfishing boats, etc. Marlin, sailfish, that kind of thing. Along the Brazilian coast, the continental shelf is closer here than it is anywhere. Along with the absence of significant river outflows, it helps keep the water clear. Clearer than anywhere else along the Brazilian coast. The abrolhos and other islands offshore also teem with fish.



Can you fish in the lagoon?

......... No lagoon. You can fish in the bay and ocean for everything from shark, barracuda and tuna to small herring, lobsters, crabs, octopus, sea bass, red snapper, etc. Lots of fish. Commercial fishermen well offshore and antiquated methods inshore (throw net, net laid from a tree trunk canoe, shellfish gathering by hand...) have so far not impacted the place. You can also fish in the fresh water lakes near our house. Tilapia, the tropical cultivated food fish, has been introduced successfully the last 10 years.
Any coral reefs anywhere in the vicinity?

........... The Peninsula is made up of sandy beaches punctuated by coral reefs, some of which form protected "swimming pools" at low tide. Tourists love them. I prefer tide pools, or the entirely sandy beach where we live, Praia do Cassange.

And the weather...is it just plain nice all year round...or...?

.......... When arrived we were told it rained a lot in the winter. We haven't seen it, a couple days here or there. We think the weather is perfect for a tourist destination. When it rains, it's often at night or around dawn- not during the day. As far as we're concerned, it hardly rains at all. We'd prefer a lot more than it does or has, although they say this year was a rainy one. The lakes are topped off. The temperature varies little during the year, even during the day or from night to day. It is a consistently amazing 20 to 30C (70's and 80's Fahrenheit) while the ocean is the low to mid 20's. How much better can it get?

On the other hand, in the summer it's too hot in the sun to do strenuous physical work. But it is perfect in the shade. A constant light breeze helps moderate the temperature. At night we use a sheet- maybe a very light blanket. I never use air conditioning. Not because I dislike it that much, but because it doesn't seem necessary to me. Some people do. Some don't. It's more a matter of personal preference than anything else.