The interviews and guidance that the Ministry of Labor and Employment (MTE) will carry out with artisanal fishermen interested in guaranteeing the right to defense insurance will begin this Monday (24), in 122 municipalities in the states of Piauí, Amazonas and Bahia. In Pará and Maranhão, the service will begin on December 1st.
The initiative aims to identify beneficiaries and guide them on the new rules for requesting Artisanal Fisherman Unemployment Insurance (SDPA) – better known as defense insurance.
According to the ministry, interviews will be carried out at fishermen’s unions, associations and colonies in these municipalities, from Monday to Friday.
The closed season insurance aims to guarantee income to artisanal fishermen during the closed season, when fishing is prohibited to preserve the species.
The value of the benefit corresponds to a monthly minimum wage, paid throughout the closed season, limited to 5 installments.
According to MTE rules, in the months in which the fisherman receives the benefit, he cannot engage in fishing or any other remunerated activity that undermines his professional status.
Change of management
Defense insurance management was the responsibility of the National Social Security Institute. However, the Provisional Measure No. 1,323of November 4, amended Law No. 10,779, which deals with the benefit, transferring management to the MTE.
According to the folder, “all closures initiated between April 1, 2015 and October 31, 2025, will still be processed by the INSS”.
Only those that started from November 1, 2025 will be the responsibility of the MTE.
“Upon assuming the responsibility to analyze and release the benefit, the MTE will begin the interview process to guarantee the right to defense insurance for all professional artisanal fishermen and fisherwomen who meet the program’s requirements, thus guaranteeing the right for those who make a living from artisanal fishing”, informed the ministry.
To be entitled to the benefit, the fisherman or fisherman will need to prove their residence. Furthermore, compatibility between the municipality of residence and the territories covered by the closure will be checked.
Beneficiaries must present fish sales invoices or proof of social security contributions with a periodic report proving monthly activity as an artisanal fisherman.
Service channels
To apply for the benefit, the fisherman must access the Digital Work Card application or access the Emprega Brasil Portal.
Another possibility is to go, in person, to an MTE service point. There, it will be possible to follow the qualification and payment process, as well as request benefit review requests.
The interested fisherman can also request a review of the defense insurance request in a online, attaching the justification for the request and all supporting documentation.
The MTE adds that, after the application, the system checks whether the fisherman’s address is located in a city selected to carry out the in-person interview.
“If not, the process goes directly to processing the request by the MTE, which, after analysis, releases it for payment. If it is in the selected city, the fisherman will be referred to participate in a face-to-face interview”, he added.
See which municipalities will be prioritized for interviews:
- Amazonas: Anamã, Anori, Autazes, Benjamin Constant, Beruri, Boa Vista do Ramos, Borba, Caapiranga, Canutama, Careiro, Careiro da Várzea, Coari, Codajás, Fonte Boa, Guajará, Humaitá, Ipixuna, Iranduba, Itacoatiara, Jutaí, Lábrea, Manacapuru, Manaquiri, Manaus, Manicoré, Maraã, Parintins, Santo Antônio do Içá, São Paulo de Olivença, Tabatinga, Tapauá, Tefé, Urucará, Urucurituba.
- Bahia (BA): Barra, Bom Jesus da Lapa, Cansanção, Carinhanha, Casa Nova, Conde, Cotegipe, Curaçá, Ibotirama, Itiúba, Jandaíra, Juazeiro, Malhada, Morpará, Muquém de São Francisco, Paratinga, Pilão Arcado, Remanso, Riachão das Neves, Serra do Ramalho, Sento Sé, Sítio do Mato, Sobradinho, Xique-Xique.
- Piauí (PI): Barras, Buriti dos Lopes, Cajueiro da Praia, Campo Largo do Piauí, Guadalupe, Ilha Grande, Joca Marques, José de Freitas, Luís Correia, Luzilândia, Madeiro, Matias Olímpio, Murici dos Portelas, Nossa Senhora dos Remédios, Parnaíba, Teresina.
Interviews
The interviews that begin this last week of November will be carried out by fellows hired by the Jorge Duprat Figueiredo Foundation for Occupational Safety and Medicine (Fundacentro), a federal public institution linked to the ministry.
They will work in the indicated locations during the following periods:
- Bahia: closed season is in force in November, April and September. Interviews will run until May 2026.
- Piauí: closed season occurs in November, December and January. Interviews will run until March next year.
- Amazonas: closed season concentrated in November. Interviews end in January 2026.
- Maranhão and Pará: closed seasons in force in the months of November, December and January. Interviews run until March 2026.
