Press Release 7 May 2001

Arapaima Survey Completed in the North Rupununi

The Arapaima, Pirarucu, or Paiche is one of the most interesting fish in the world. This fish can reach up to three meters long and can weigh over 200 kilos making it the largest scaled fresh water fish in South America. The Arapaima eats other fish and is a top predator in Amazonian rivers. As such, this fish is important in regulating the populations of other fish species in rivers and wetlands. The Arapaima also has very complicated reproductive behaviour that includes migration, nesting, and taking care of the young ones. Interestingly, the Arapaima is also one of the few fish that has to breath air to survive; they surface every 15 minutes, almost like a dolphin, to take a gulp of air.

Arapaima is also one of the most sought after fish species in the Amazon. 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 of meat and be worth about 40,000 Guyana dollars; a smaller fish may be worth 8,000 Guyana dollars. The major market for Arapaima is in Brazil, where the Brazilians have already reduced many populations to commercial extinction.

Because of over harvest, Arapaima are protected in Guyana by the Fisheries Regulations. Unfortunately, since Arapaima is such an important source of income, people frequently ignore these regulations. For example, recently, the Community Development Council of Fairview Village, Region 8, have complained that a fisherman from Lethem was killing breeding Arapaima in Stanley Lake on the Essequibo River . Arapaima are found in the Rewa, Essequibo and Rupununi Rivers in the North Rupununi sub-region; although historically they may have had a much wider distribution in Guyana . Unfortunately, demands from markets in Brazil have reduced Arapaima populations in Guyana to very low levels.

Over the past two months, The North Rupununi District Development Board, The Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development (Brazil) and Iwokrama have been working under a Memorandum of Understanding with the Fisheries Department to survey the numbers of Arapaima remaining in the North Rupununi. A biologist from Mamirauá (Leandro Castello), four Brazilian fishermen and fourteen fishermen from the North Rupununi carried out the surveys in the North Rupununi.

The team counted the numbers of fish in over 150 lakes. The results suggest that only 425 Arapaima over one meter long left in the North Rupununi; of these only 213 are longer than 1.5 meters. Local fishermen suggest that the numbers of Arapaima found today are much fewer than used to be found in the North Rupununi, though there are no previous surveys to compare the numbers.

Unfortunately, people are continuing to harvest Arapaima in the North Rupununi for markets in Annai, Lethem and Brazil. In some cases, local fishermen have been harvesting the fish, but of greatest concern is the increasing number of outsiders from Lethem, Brazil and Georgetown that are also harvesting Arapaima in the area. The local law enforcement agents have been relatively ineffective in implementing the law, and there have been concerns that some law enforcement officers have allegedly been involved in trading Arapaima.

Part of the agreement between Iwokrama and Mamirauá was for the Brazilian team to make recommendations from the surveys as to the most effective mechanisms to manage Arapaima in Guyana. The recommendations come from fisheries management experiences in Brazil .

The major recommendation was that Guyana moves toward developing regulations that help with co-management of the Arapaima fisheries. Co-management means that local communities would work with government agencies such as the Fisheries Department and the Environmental Protection Agency to manage the fishery. In this way, the government agencies would be responsible for providing a regulatory framework for management, while the communities would implement the management system.

Another recommendation is that the government permit a limited local fishery for Arapaima with markets in Guyana rather than in Brazil. The team suggested that only local communities should be allowed to harvest Arapaima and that these exclusive harvest rights would guarantee local people direct economic benefits and so give them an incentive to ensure the future conservation of Arapaima in the area. Fisheries committees in the villages and at the North Rupununi District Development Board would calculate every year's permissible harvest based on stock surveys by trained fishermen. The reason for opening a local sustainable market was that the demand for Arapaima in Guyana is likely to be manageable. One suggestion is that Arapaima could be eaten at restaurants and resorts as part of the developing ecotourism industry with the EPA and Fisheries Department could certify the Arapaima as sustainably harvested.

The team also suggested that the minimum harvest size should be 1.5 meters long and that Arapaima should not be fished when breeding. The loss of one adult during breeding would result in the loss of many young ones because of dependence on the adult for protection. Banning the trade in Arapaima has not worked in the past; as can be seen by the continuing decline in Arapaima in Guyana. The reason that the trade ban did not work is that the Fisheries Department and other agencies are unable to effectively enforce the laws in the interior of Guyana. If the Fisheries Department works with local communities to develop management plans for the Arapaima then the communities could take on much of the responsibility for enforcing regulations.

The key to the future of the Arapaima in Guyana is effective implementation of rules and regulations developed jointly by the communities and the government. Recently, Iwokrama held meetings with Fisheries Department staff and community representatives to discuss possible steps forward. The hope is that Iwokrama can facilitate the links between the Fisheries Department, EPA, and the communities that will lead to the effective management of Arapaima in Guyana . In addition, it is hoped that environmental education programmes could be developed to increase awareness in Guyana about the sustainable use of natural resources.