A. Species
Scientific name: Arapaima spp.
Common name(s): Pirarucu
Global IUCN Red List Threat Status:
B. Location of use
Geographic location(s):
- Brazil
Country/Region:
C. Scale of assessment
Scale of assessment: National Level
Name/Details of location: Brazil
D. Timescale of use
Start Year: 2008
End Year: 2008
E. Information about the use
How is the wild species sourced?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat and Wild species sourced from the wild but reared/cultivated in a managed site
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
Motivation of use: Basic subsistence, Income generation from trade (individual/household/community) and Largescale commercial exploitation for trade
Is this use legal or illegal?: Some use is legal and some is illegal
F. Information about the Users
Which stakeholder(s) does the record primarily focus on?: Local people and National / local government
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 and Wild species sourced from the wild but reared/cultivated in a managed site
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an ecological perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable
Details of assessment carried out: This CITES NDF Assessment
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Study analysis shows that there is potential for sustainable harvests of Arapaima in Brazil, and hence NDF, but such potential is not being achieved because of deficiencies in NDF procedures and lack of management capacity.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an economic perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable
Details of assessment carried out: This CITES NDF Assessment.
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Although the exploitation of Arapaima is economically lucrative, this use cannot be sustainable until the wild population is managed properly.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a social perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable
Details of assessment carried out: This CITES NDF Assessment.
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Although the exploitation of Arapaima provides a source of food (protein), this use cannot be sustainable until the wild population is managed properly.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a human health perspective been recorded?: No, sustainability not determined
Details of assessment carried out: This CITES NDR Assessment
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Commonly eaten with no mention of health risks.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an animal health/welfare perspective been recorded?: not recorded
Recommendations provided in the record to maintain or enhance the sustainability of the use of the target species
The study makes six recommendations to improve NDF procedures in Brazil: (i) Arapaima listing in CITES Appendix II could be based on the genus name to provide urgently needed protection to all possible species therein, at least until the taxonomyis better resolved and the status of each taxon is evaluated. (ii) Adaptive management strategies for Arapaima that use a yearly census to determine yearly harvest quotas of sexually mature individuals could improve future NDF report reliability. The counting of Arapaima when combined with catch monitoring, would provide a useful framework that addresses current weaknesses and focuses on strategic data. (iii) NDF reports prepared by scientific authorities and submitted to administrative authorities for licensing of exports of CITES species could be based on IUCN!s checklist for NDF procedures. (iv) All documents used in licensing of exports of CITES species could be publicly available, as CITES species are a matter of public concern. (v) NDF report exemptions for cultured CITES species could be based on evidence that captive populations are self-sustaining and independent of wild populations. (vi) Greatly increased attention of governments worldwide to promote the study and monitoring of key fish resources such as Arapaima. Even the most elaborate system for making NDF procedures cannot overcome the impossibility of assessing fish resources for which there are no data.
Record source
Information about the record source: scientific_pub
Date of publication/issue/production: 2010-01-01T00:00:00+0000
Source Reference(s):
Date of record entry: 2023-09-22