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references

where each piece
of information comes from

The fishing index is a reading, not a promise: it combines public weather and ocean data, astronomy and what the literature and anglers know about each species. Here are the method's sources. Each species profile, guide, destination and rule also lists its own.

What is estimated. Season, time of day and sensitivities for each species are editorial estimates based on the literature and field experience. River water temperature is estimated from air temperature. Tides come from a model, not a harbor. Fishing rules change: the official regulation always prevails.

01

weather forecast

Global models, ensemble simulations and ocean data that feed the forecast.

  1. technical Open-Meteo — Weather Forecast API (documentação)Source of the app's hourly forecast. The same query requests three models (best_match, ecmwf_ifs025 and gfs_seamless); the app uses the median among them and shows the range (maximum − minimum) as uncertainty. See app/motor/previsao.py.
  2. technical Open-Meteo — Ensemble API (documentação)GFS Ensemble 0.5° (gfs05, NOAA GEFS), used for the trend up to 35 days ahead. The documentation gives a 35-day horizon for the GFS ensemble.
  3. technical Open-Meteo — Marine Weather API (documentação)Waves, sea surface temperature, sea level with tide, and currents. The page states that tide and currents come from a numerical model (MeteoFrance SMOC, ~8 km), with limited accuracy near the coast, and that the data does not replace the tide tables for navigation.
  4. technical Zippenfenig, P. (2024). Open-Meteo.com Weather API (software, versão 1.4.0). Zenodo.Citable record for Open-Meteo. Metadata checked on DataCite.
  5. technical Open-Meteo — Terms of UseThe free API is for non-commercial use only, with a limit of 10,000 calls per day (checked Oct 13, 2026).
  6. technical ECMWF — IFS documentation (Integrated Forecasting System)Scientific documentation of the European Centre model (ECMWF IFS), used in the app on the 0.25° grid.
  7. official NOAA/NCEP Environmental Modeling Center — Global Forecast System (GFS)Page for the GFS model at the center that develops it (NOAA, USA).
  8. official NOAA/NCEP Environmental Modeling Center — Global Ensemble Forecast System (GEFS)Page for the GEFS ensemble, basis of the app's long-term trend.
02

sun, moon and solunar

Rise and set calculations, moon phases, transits and solunar periods.

  1. technical Schlyter, P. — How to compute planetary positionsLow-precision algorithm used in app/motor/astro.py for the positions of the Sun and Moon (with the main lunar perturbations), rise, set, transits and phase.
  2. scientific Meeus, J. (1998). Astronomical Algorithms. 2ª ed. Richmond: Willmann-Bell.Standard reference for the Julian day, sunrise and sunset (horizon of −0.833° with refraction and semidiameter) and Moon phases. The app's code implements Schlyter; Meeus serves as a cross-check reference. The URL is the bibliographic record on Open Library (checked via the API; the page asks for human verification).
  3. technical Knight, J. A. (1942). Moon Up, Moon Down: the story of the Solunar Theory. Nova York: Charles Scribner's Sons.Origin of solunar theory: longer periods when the Moon crosses the meridian (overhead and underfoot) and shorter ones at moonrise and moonset, which the app reproduces. The theory is empirical, with no general scientific proof. The 1926 date cited as the start of the theory has not been checked against a primary source. URL: bibliographic record on Open Library (checked via the API).
  4. scientific Vinson, M. R.; Angradi, T. R. (2014). Muskie lunacy: does the lunar cycle influence angler catch of muskellunge (Esox masquinongy)? PLoS ONE 9(5): e98046.With 341,959 muskellunge catches in North America, it found a lunar-cycle effect: more fish near the full and new moon, with a maximum gain of about 5%. It shows the moon effect exists but is small, which is why it carries little weight in the index.
  5. scientific Lowry, M.; Williams, D.; Metti, Y. (2007). Lunar landings — relationship between lunar phase and catch rates for an Australian gamefish-tournament fishery. Fisheries Research 88: 15–23.Relationship between moon phase and catch in offshore fishing tournaments in Australia, with responses varying by species. Metadata checked on Crossref; the original abstract was not accessible (only the automatic summary from Semantic Scholar).
03

map, states and basins

IBGE boundary meshes and ANA hydrographic regions used to determine what applies at each point.

  1. official IBGE — API de malhas geográficas (versão 3)Source of the state boundaries used to locate the point (tools/preparar_geo.py).
  2. official ANA — Catálogo de Metadados (SNIRH): Regiões HidrográficasOfficial set of hydrographic regions (2003 mapping, updated in 2016 and 2020). The app downloaded the geometries from ANA's SGI/Regioes_Hidrograficas service and uses the 12 regions as "basins."
  3. official Resolução CNRH nº 32, de 15 de outubro de 2003 — institui a Divisão Hidrográfica NacionalDefines the 12 hydrographic regions (Annexes I and II); published in the DOU on Dec 17, 2003. Text checked. Copy hosted by the PCJ Committees: we did not find the PDF on the CNRH website.
04

water temperature

How we estimate river water temperature from the air and where the sea's comes from.

  1. scientific Stefan, H. G.; Preud'homme, E. B. (1993). Stream temperature estimation from air temperature. Water Resources Bulletin (JAWRA) 29(1): 27–45.Basis for the estimated water temperature in rivers and reservoirs. The paper fits Tw = 2.9 + 0.86·Ta to weekly averages from 11 US rivers (deviation of 2.1 °C). The app uses Tw ≈ 0.9·Ta (7-day average air temperature) + 3.5 °C, an editorial recalibration for Brazilian lowland rivers, with no published validation.
  2. scientific Mohseni, O.; Stefan, H. G.; Erickson, T. R. (1998). A nonlinear regression model for weekly stream temperatures. Water Resources Research 34(10): 2685–2692.Nonlinear model for weekly river temperature; it shows the linear relationship with air loses accuracy at the extremes.
  3. technical Open-Meteo — Marine Weather API: temperatura da superfície do marAt sea, the app uses the sea surface temperature from the model (MeteoFrance, ~8 km), not the air-based estimate.
05

fish behavior and weather

Studies on pressure, cold fronts, moon and fish activity.

  1. scientific Stoner, A. W. (2004). Effects of environmental variables on fish feeding ecology: implications for the performance of baited fishing gear and stock assessment. Journal of Fish Biology 65: 1445–1471.Review: water temperature, light, current and prey density are the variables that change bait catch the most, by up to ten times. It supports the high weight of temperature and light in the index.
  2. scientific Heupel, M. R.; Simpfendorfer, C. A.; Hueter, R. E. (2003). Running before the storm: blacktip sharks respond to falling barometric pressure associated with Tropical Storm Gabrielle. Journal of Fish Biology 63: 1357–1363.Young sharks moved into deeper water when the pressure dropped ahead of a storm, and returned afterward. A documented example of a fish that responds to atmospheric pressure.
  3. scientific Kuparinen, A.; Klefoth, T.; Arlinghaus, R. (2010). Abiotic and fishing-related correlates of angling catch rates in pike (Esox lucius). Fisheries Research 105: 111–117.Links weather conditions and moon phase to the catch rate of pike, a temperate-climate species. Metadata checked on Crossref; the original abstract is paywalled, so we checked only the automatic abstract from Semantic Scholar.
  4. scientific Marengo, J.; Cornejo, A.; Satyamurty, P.; Nobre, C.; Sea, W. (1997). Cold surges in tropical and extratropical South America: the strong event in June 1994. Monthly Weather Review 125: 2759–2786.Meteorology of polar air incursions that cool the South, the Southeast and western Amazonia (friagem, cold spell). Basis for the app's cold front alert. We did not find a published study measuring the effect of cold fronts on catches of the Brazilian species in the catalog: the sensitivity weights are editorial estimates.
06

conservation

Threatened-species lists and assessments used in the profile badges.

  1. official Portaria GM/MMA nº 1.667, de 27 de abril de 2026 — Lista Nacional Oficial de Espécies da Fauna Ameaçadas de Extinção (peixes e invertebrados aquáticos)Current national list; DOU of Apr 28, 2026, section 1, p. 96. The categories of the catalog's species were checked against the text.
  2. official Portaria GM/MMA nº 1.666, de 27 de abril de 2026 — regras e restrições para as espécies ameaçadas da lista de peixes e invertebrados aquáticosDefines what may and may not be done with threatened species (catching, transport, trade); DOU of Apr 28, 2026.
  3. official Portaria MMA nº 148, de 7 de junho de 2022 — atualização da Lista Nacional de Espécies Ameaçadas de ExtinçãoPrevious national list (DOU of June 8, 2022), cited in the history of some species.
  4. official ICMBio — SALVE: Sistema de Avaliação do Risco de Extinção da BiodiversidadeNational assessments by species; each entry has a DOI (prefix 10.37002) and is cited in the species page. The DOIs were checked on Crossref.
  5. scientific IUCN — The IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesGlobal assessments. The per-species links come from the FishBase entry (2025-2 version of the Red List).
  6. scientific Froese, R.; Pauly, D. (orgs.). FishBase — base de dados mundial de peixesEntry for each catalog species (synonymy, distribution, biology, length-weight relationship used for "lw") and a list of references that supported the choice of technical works cited per species. Consulted Oct 13, 2026.
07

legislation

Federal regulations the app summarizes; state ones are listed with each rule.

  1. official Portaria SAP/MAPA nº 616, de 8 de março de 2022 — ordenamento da pesca amadora ou esportivaFederal recreational fishing rule: transport quotas, permitted gear and ornamental species (DOU of Mar 9, 2022). Details in regras.json.
  2. official Lei nº 11.959, de 29 de junho de 2009 — Política Nacional de Desenvolvimento Sustentável da Aquicultura e da PescaBrazil's general fishing law. Defines recreational fishing (leisure or sport) and requires a license for recreational or sport anglers.
  3. official Lei nº 9.605, de 12 de fevereiro de 1998 — Lei de Crimes AmbientaisDefines crimes against wildlife, including fishing in prohibited periods or places.
  4. official Decreto nº 6.514, de 22 de julho de 2008 — infrações e sanções administrativas ao meio ambienteFines for fishing violations.
  5. official Lei nº 9.985, de 18 de julho de 2000 — Sistema Nacional de Unidades de Conservação (SNUC)Defines the conservation unit categories cited in destinations (park, biological reserve, ecological station, resex, RDS, APA).
  6. official Ibama — Defesos continentaisFederal table of closed seasons (piracema) by basin. State and species-specific rules are in regras.json and regras_especificas, with rule and link.
  7. official gov.br — Solicitar Licença de Pescador Amador ou EsportivoOfficial service for issuing the federal recreational fishing license.