Arapaima population on the increase - Iwokrama
By Mondale Smith
Kaieteur News
July 22, 2004
The local Arapaima population is on the increase and the North Rupununi District Development Board (NRDDB), is working to ensure that this trend continues.
As at the last count in January 2004, the population is averaged at 1,170 up from 833 in 2001 in over 200 ponds checked. The population stood at 1,100 in 200 ponds in November of 2002.
Officials at the Iwokrama field station made this disclosure which was yesterday confirmed by Deirdre Jafferally, Wetlands Field Researcher, Wetlands Monitoring Programme, Iwokrama International Centre, and former Arapaima management project Coordinator.
Following concerns raised at a wildlife management workshop in 1998, several methods were employed by the NRDDB, and Iwokrama has helped to keep a tab on the population rate of the world’s largest fresh water fish. The Arapaima (Arapaima Gigas) called Pirarucu in Brazil is found only in the Amazon and Essequibo river systems. Adults can reach 3m (10 ft.) in length and weigh up to 200 kilos (440 lbs.).
As a result, the field station is sure that the population is on the increase despite being a food source for the hinterland communities.
It was feared that the fish was on the verge of extinction and Iwokrama along with the NRDDB sought ways to remedy this while assessing the population. At the same time, officials from Brazil have already devised a way to count the fish by observing its breathing patterns.
Arapaimas, territorial fishes, surface to breathe. The juveniles surface every five minutes while the adults surface every 18-20 minutes.
The Brazilians shared their knowledge of counting using this method with local officials from the villages.
The Brazilians also catch and mark the fishes to help keep count of them.
According to Iwokrama officials, Arapaima harvesting is forbidden in Guyana where unfortunately, in the last 30 years, illegal fishing had drastically reduced the Essequibo Arapaima population.
During that period, most of the harvest was sold by local communities to Brazil at a low value of approximately 80US cents a kilo.
Today, despite the signs of growth in the population, the scarcity of Arapaima is reason for concern for local Amerindians because the fish represented an important income source in a poverty stricken local economy.
From an ecological perspective, one of the challenges faced is striking a balance between reaching the needs of the villagers while sustaining the Arapaima population. The fish plays an important ecological role. “It’s at the top of the web’s predators list and it helps to control some of the other fish population,”
Jafferally said.
Arapaima is one of the most sought after fish species in South America, especially Amazonia. The meat is boneless and constitutes up to 50% of the total body weight of the fish.
A large Arapaima could yield up to 100 kilos of meat and is worth about $40,000. A smaller fish may be worth $8,000.
The major market for Arapaima is in Brazil, where the population has been reduced largely because of the fish’s commercial value.
When the Arapaima research surveys concluded in 2001, a management plan for Arapaima was developed with local communities that allowed for the local Arapaima population to recover while allowing local fishermen to continue harvesting.
This plan is based on a successful system developed by the Mamirauá Institute and fishermen in Brazil. Brazilian fishing communities, using this system, were able to increase the Arapaima population by 300% over the last three years and to increase the fishermen's profit by 100%.
Speaking with Kaieteur News, Jafferally said that the draft management plan was submitted to the Ministry of Fisheries, Crops and Livestock and the Office of the President.
The main features of the draft North Rupununi Arapaima Management Plan are that local fishermen should be organised as Fisheries Committees responsible for counting the number of Arapaima in the lakes annually and determining conservative fishing quotas that would be shared among the fishermen.
Additionally, the plan includes a minimum size of catch of 1.6 metres, and restricts fishing to between December and February and does not allow harvesting of breeding adults. The Community Fisheries Committees are responsible for enforcing these rules.
She said that the stakeholders are in need of major help from the police to enforce measures to prevent harvesting. She added that once the plan is approved, it is expected that fishermen will sell this high quality fish in Georgetown but legislation would have to be put in place to prevent cross-border trade.
Fisheries Committees will be supervised and will receive scientific advice from the Department of Fisheries and Iwokrama. Already, she says, the Fisheries Act was passed last year but the NRDDB is awaiting word from the president to issue special licences for fishing the Arapaima.
The stakeholders include the EPA, Ministry of Fisheries, Crops and Livestock and the police.
Meanwhile, the NRDDB is calling for help for approval of the management plan, Jafferally said.