Brazil proposes linking artisanal fishers' unemployment insurance to actual fishing bans

A bill (PL 806/26) under review in Brazil's Chamber of Deputies would require the artisanal fishers' unemployment insurance, known as seguro‑defeso, to be paid for the entire period that fishing is prohibited for species protection. The proposal, authored by Deputy Carla Dickson and Deputy Sargento Gonçalves, also creates a mandatory National Registry of Artisanal Fishers and Marisqueiras to improve benefit targeting and introduces penalties for fraud or false claims.

Separately, the federal government announced that more than 149,000 artisanal fishers have begun receiving retroactive seguro‑defeso payments for periods before 2026, amounting to R$ 874 million. Payments are made in a single installment through Caixa accounts, coordinated by INSS, the Ministry of Social Security, the Ministry of Labor and Employment, and Dataprev. Beneficiaries must have had their claims approved within the legal deadline and meet all statutory requirements.