The present article and result of the research project financed by the National Council of Scientific and Technological Development - CNPq. An analytical and problematic research of the work of artisanal fishermen in the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro, analyzing the production and distribution circuit. A research with methodology of field research: workshops, individual interviews, question reports and photographic records in the workplaces of artisanal fishermen and fish markets. The theoretical and methodological reference analyzes Brazilian and foreign authors, geographers, philosophers, sociologists and economists who contribute to the advancement of popular economies. This reference offers new methodological and conceptual tools that help in the construction of new readings on the social production of the urban space.