Description

Abstract: Arapaima gigas (Osteoglossidae), also known as paiche (Peru) or piraruccu (Brazil and Colombia),

is one of the major scaled fish in the Amazon region (Figure 1), living in the lagoons or meanders along the large rivers of the vast region. This colossal fish feeds mainly on small fish (Imbiriba 2001) and reproduces throughout the year, though mostly between October and February (Guerra 1980). It produces a copious number of fry in a single spawning event, all of which swim very closely to the mother’s head for several days post-hatch. The fillet is of excellent quality and is a highly prized favorite among consumers in the Amazonian region (Rebasa et al. 1999). The meat of this fish lacks intermuscular bones or spines, with a dressout yield of 57 percent (Imbiriba et al. 1996). This far the supply, despite high demand, has been adequae in the marketplace, but with increasing fishing pressure on natural stocks, a drastic decline in population has become apparent. Consequently, A. gigas appears as an endangered species in the Convention on International Trade of Wild Fauna and Flora Species (CITES), Appendix II.