A. Species
Scientific name: Arapaima gigas
Common name(s): Pirarucu , Arapaima
Global IUCN Red List Threat Status: Data Deficient
B. Location of use
Geographic location(s):
- Amazonas
Country/Region: Brazil / western Brazilian Amazonia
C. Scale of assessment
Scale of assessment: Sub-national / Sub-region / Sub-State
Name/Details of location: Juruá River communities
D. Timescale of use
Start Year: 2005
End Year: 2015
E. Information about the use
How is the wild species sourced?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Type of use: Extractive
Practice of use: Targeted fishing harvesting/exploiting or collecting wild aquatic resources
Lethal or non-lethal: Lethal
Does this use involve take/extraction of: The whole entire organism
Purpose(s) of end use: Food and feed and Collection/display
Motivation of use: Basic subsistence, Income generation from trade (individual/household/community), Traditional/Cultural/Spiritual and Population/Area Management
Is this use legal or illegal?: Legal under national law
F. Information about the Users
Which stakeholder(s) does the record primarily focus on?: Local people
G. Information about the sustainability of use
Is there evidence that the use is having an impact on the target species?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an ecological perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: This study: Community-based resource management program to promote stock recovery. A stock assessment examined the effects of protected areas, community-based management, and landscape and limnological variables across 83 oxbow lakes monitored along a ~500-km section of the Juruá River of Western Brazilian Amazonia.
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Patterns of community management explained 71.8% of the variation in arapaima population sizes.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an economic perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: This study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Arapaima are community-managed and fished according government-approved quotas, specifically to achieve stock recovery supporting the local socio-economy.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a social perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: This study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Arapaima are community-managed and fished according government-approved quotas, specifically to achieve stock recovery supporting the local socio-economy.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a human health perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: This study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Widely eaten without causing disease.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an animal health/welfare perspective been recorded?: not recorded
Details of assessment carried out: This study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Not recorded
Recommendations provided in the record to maintain or enhance the sustainability of the use of the target species
Include local stakeholders in conservation planning of Amazonian floodplains. Management causes illegal fishers to abandon illegal practices. A community-based, participatory approach involving sustainable trade and local benefits can be much more effective than relying on bans and government enforcement capacity, particularly where government capacity to enforce regulations over vast areas is limited. Decentralization of natural resource management and involvement of highly motivated stakeholders are powerful tools for resource conservation and sustainable management.
Record source
Information about the record source: scientific_pub
Date of publication/issue/production: 2016-01-01T00:00:00+0000
Source Reference(s):
Referenced by the CITES & Livelihoods Case Study Report 2019.
Date of record entry: 2022-11-21