Arapaima Fishery Business

The Arapaima (Arapaima gigas) 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 100 kilos (220 lbs.) of meat and be worth about US$205; a smaller fish may be worth US$41. The major market for Arapaima is in Brazil, where the Brazilians have already reduced many populations to commercial extinction.

Arapaima meat is a very valuable commodity,

especially in Brazil.

Arapaima harvesting is forbidden in Guyana. Unfortunately, in the last 30 years illegal fishing has drastically decreased the Essequibo Arapaima population. Most of the harvest was sold by local communities to Brazil at a low values of approximately 80 US cents a kilo.

Species/Fisheries Management

As a continuation of the Arapaima Research surveys concluded in 2001, a Management Plan for Arapaima was developed with local communities that would allow for the local Arapaima population to recover while local fishermen continue harvesting. This plan was 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%.

Today, the scarcity of large Arapaima specimens as in the above photo are of great concern to local Amerindians; the fish represents an important income source in a region with great poverty and little opportunity for income.

The main features of the draft North Rupununi Arapaima management plan are that local fishermen are organized as Fisheries Committees that are responsible for counting the number of Arapaima in the lakes every year and determining conservative fishing quotas that would be shared among the fishermen.

Additionally, the plan includes a minimum size of catch (1.6 metres), 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.

It is expected that fishermen will sell this high quality fish in Georgetown. Fisheries Committees will be supervised and receive scientific advice from the Department of Fisheries and Iwokrama. The draft management plan is currently being revised by the Ministry of Fisheries, Crops and Livestock, which has indicated that the plan will most likely be approved in the next few months.

Members of the Executive & Community Fisheries Committees