The paiche, or Arapaima, is the largest freshwater fish in the world. They typically grow to be over ten feet long and weigh 350 pounds! It is unbelievable to think that the locals catch these monsters with nothing but their nets and then plop them into their dugout canoes.

The volunteer park rangers, or guards, on Lake El Dorado have worked for 12 years to protect the Pacaya Samiria Preserve. The rangers have many jobs, but their main job is to protect the once plentiful arapaima.

Their conservation efforts are paying off, because the local population of Arapaima is rebounding slowly, but steadily increasing in this location. It is great to see a conservation program working on Lake El Dorado. As a reward for their efforts, the guards are able to catch a certain number of fish for their community and to sell.

Arapaima are specially adapted for life in floodplain lakes. When water levels drop and temperatures rise in the dry season, most fish leave the lake for the river. For the fishes stuck in the land-locked lake, an arapaima is their worst nightmare. A fast, agile swimmer, the arapaima gorges itself on fish during the low-water season. The arapaima is able to store enough energy to keep it alive when the fish are dispersed throughout the forest during the high-water season.

Since Arapaima breathe air instead of water, it is able to thrive at a time when other fishes struggle for oxygen. Instead of gills, the arapaima has an air bladder, which it uses for buoyancy. The air bladder functions similarly to our lungs: it is filled through the mouth much like the way many mammals breathe.

Humans have always hunted arapaima for its incredibly tasty meat. People also use the fish's rough scales and tongue for sanding tools.

Due to heavy commercial fishing, the arapiama population is seriously threatened. We can only hope that people in other areas of Amazonia have made attempts to observe the arapaima population in their floodplain lakes and do what it takes to keep them from extinction.

Gone Fishin'

Patrick