Protecting the arapaima
Guyana Chronicle
April 23, 2007
The introduction of sustainable harvesting measures has seen Guyana’s arapaima population on the rise and according to veteran counters McDonald Henry and Justin Joseph, who live in Annai, Rupununi the population stood at about 800 when the last count was done in 2005.
The veteran counters, who have been fishermen all their lives, explained to the Guyana Chronicle that counting of arapaima is done when the fish comes up to the surface of the water to breathe and this lasts for about 20 minutes.
Counters are deployed at the various locations where the fish is found and then the sum total of all the locations is taken.
Apart from over harvesting by locals, Henry and Joseph recalled that a Peruvian trader illegally exported the rare species of fish, contributing to the sharp decline in population and threatening its extinction.
Last week an Arapaima Management Plan was launched at Annai as part of the strategy of sustainable harvesting of the fish.
Fishing is an extremely important activity in the 13 communities in North Rupununi, as over exploitation has reduced the population of arapaima over last 30 years. Today, local livelihoods and ecosystems are threatened as the population of these key predators was drastically reduced.
As such, defined control over the arapaima became necessary for the implementation of a legal co-management system.
Objectives of the plan include: increasing the arapaima stock within North Rupununi by 50% of its November 2001 estimate by April 2009; strengthening local community institutional structures such as village and central Fisheries Committees; and increasing the income of arapaima fishermen by 50%.
Important rules of the plan are only adult fishes are to be harvested and only when they are not reproducing, and the number harvested each year must be equal to the fishing quota.
Due to the geographic range that the arapaima inhabits, the fish’s life cycle is greatly affected by the seasonal flooding that occurs. Half of the year the arapaima experiences an abundance of water, which is a benefit to these aquatic organisms; however, the other half of the year the arapaima experiences drought conditions. The arapaima has adapted to this great fluctuation in many aspects of its life, including reproduction. The arapaima lays its eggs during the months of February, March, and April, when the water levels are low. They build a nest approximately 50 centimetres wide and 15 centimetres deep, usually in sandy bottom areas. As the water rises the eggs hatch and the fry prosper in the flood conditions during May to August.
The largest scaled freshwater fish in the world, the arapaima reach lengths of up to 3 metres (10 ft.) and weigh up to 200 kg (440 lbs.). They are members of the Family Osteoglossidae, along with another more commonly known South American fish, the much smaller Arowana.
In Guyana, Arapaimas are found mainly in the Essequibo and Rupununi River systems in central areas of Guyana, as well as the Amazon River Basin. They can be seen in large numbers in isolated ponds during the dry season from September through March. During high water the fish can be found throughout the flooded forest, in swamps, and up-stream in creeks. As the waters recede, they return to the lakes and ponds.