Pirarucu or paiche, Arapaima gigas. (Photo: Stock File)
BRAZIL
Monday, August 18, 2014, 03:10 (GMT + 9)
An international team of researchers found out that the arapaima, also known as paiche or pirarucu (Arapaima gigas), is no longer present in some communities in Pará as a result of the predatory activity that is affecting the species.
This resource, which has great commercial importance in the Amazon region due to its easy capture and high market value, has long been a victim of overfishing, a situation that could cause its extinction in the waters of this area.
The study, which was published in the journal Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, was coordinated by Professor Leandro Castello of the School of Natural Resources and Environment at Virginia Tech, United States.
According to the scientist, the classical bioeconomic theory suggests that when a fishery resource becomes scarce due to overfishing, the costs for fishermen increase. This makes the price "shoot", its demand lower and fishermen begin to seek alternative species.
But Castello says that the study "showed that in practice things are quite different," informed R7.
Thus, the conclusions drawn are more consistent with a lesser-known bio-economic theory, called 'fishing-down', which goes in the opposite direction: the big fish, which offer easy access and high commercial value, can be captured to total extinction.
The classical theory, however, provides that fishermen turn to other species when they begin to observe scarcity.
The Amazon is an area rich in resources but as these are mixed in rivers, when nets are used pirarucu specimens can accidentally be caught.
The research was based on the interviews conducted to 182 fishermen from 81 communities, and their results indicate that the species is extinct in 19 per cent of the communities, threatened with extinction in 57 per cent of them and overexploited in 17 per cent.