Over the last year the aquarium fish harvesting operation of the North Rupununi, known as “El Dorado Aquarium Traders”, has made tremendous progress. Now after 20 months operating under the auspices of Iwokrama, the North Rupununi District Development Board (NRDDB), and the Netherlands Committee for the IUCN (NC-IUCN), the Traders have begun shifting the project from a donor-funded initiative to a self-sustaining community-based business.
El Dorado Aquarium Traders focuses on the sustainable utilisation of wild-caught aquarium fishes harvested with minimal ecological and environmental impacts. To achieve this, harvesting is monitored using the Catch per Unit Effort (CPUE) method. Outputs of this monitoring are projected to show population fluctuations for individual species and across fish stocks. Harvesting intensity is slackened for any species showing negative population growth rates.
The Red Tail Pleco is one of the high value species currently harvested by El Dorado Aquarium Traders. |
The business focuses mainly on Loricariid catfish to enable low volume harvesting of high value fishes. Presently, the project targets three species: the Lemon Fin (Hemiancistrus spp.), the Bushy Nose (Ancistrus spp.) and the Red Tail Pleco (Pseudacanthicus leopardus). Other fish groups like cichlids are also harvested but in smaller quantities. Fish are exported to Germany, the US, and the UK via a company called Guyana Aquarium Traders.
Seven shipments were completed between May 2003 and April 2004 (one harvesting season), with a total revenue of US$8,276. During this period the project has been able initiate a working business as well as achieve financial sustainability earlier than originally projected. Over the last year the project has profited over US$1,200 to invest in further project development and to provide income for the poverty stricken people of the North Rupununi.
CPUE calculations for this period have shown that harvesting has not yet exceeded maximum sustained yield and therefore no decreases in population growth-rate have occurred. This indicates that a slight increase in harvesting intensity would not reduce fish populations.
Harvesting the aquarium fish is done at various points along Rupununi River, where suitable micro-habitats for particular species occur. |
The fishery’s holding station is situated on the north bank of the Rupununi River and approximately 6km from the indigenous community of Annai. The facility contains workers quarters, a kitchen, and an area to accommodate approximately 5,000 fishes. The original holding station was built in 2002 and improved in November 2004. The present building still represents a preliminary structure but is the first step towards the development of a more permanent structure.
The transition to an independent community-based enterprise is a slow process, but the project has undertaken several major steps toward this objective. Community fishery staff have now been trained in the financial management and administration skills that are critical to the efficient management of a commercial enterprise. Additionally, the project is now finalising marketing studies and preparing a three-year business plan that will focus on developing strategic alliances between exporters and importers in the USA and EU, with particular emphasis on enlisting private sector investors. At the end of April 2005 the NC-IUCN funding will expire and the three-year business plan will become active.
Presently, the NRDDB and Iwokrama fully administer the project and act as a channel for administration and business management. However, this responsibility will eventually shift to the harvesters with the appointment of a business manager. The cost of fish shipments is currently sustainable, yet the salary of the business manager is currently provided by the NC-IUCN funding. For this reason a shift in business management and an overall expansion is required to cover all costs of running a sustainable, community enterprise.
This unique project is an ideal example of Iwokrama’s mission: to show how wild-caught ornamental fishes can be sustainably harvested with minimal environmental impacts whilst providing income for indigenous communities. The forthcoming change to an independent business will show how communities can collaborate with the private sector to sustainably gain income from their natural surroundings.
>Learn more about the Aquarium Fish Project.
>Learn more about the Aquarium Fish Species: Gallery and Facts.
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