Amazon Taste News Today

Even in the most biodiverse rainforest of the world, the pirarucu, also known as arapaima, stands out.

Along the Jurua River, a tributary of the Amazon, riverine settlers and Indigenous villages are working together to promote the sustainable fishing of near magic fish called pirarucu

CARAUARI, Brazil — Even in the most biodiverse rainforest of the world, the pirarucu, also known as arapaima, stands out. First, there is its mammoth size: It can weigh up to 200 kilos (440 pounds), by far the largest of 2,300 known fish species in the Amazon. It is found primarily in floodplain

Along the Jurua River, a tributary of the Amazon, riverine settlers and Indigenous villages are working together to promote the sustainable fishing of near magic fish called pirarucu.

A threatened giant fish species has returned to the lakes of the Medio Jurua in Brazil thanks to multifaceted cooperation. Such efforts have not been seen in the vast region before – and it’s a vision of what’s possible in future Amazon conservation efforts.

In the Amazon, a giant fish helps save the rainforest

It’s a region often referred to as the lungs of Earth, and given its sheer scale and  incredible biodiversity, it’s not hard to see why. The Amazon Basin is considered one of the most environmentally important locations on the planet, covered by a rainforest that encompasses around five million square kilometres of South America. While this makes it the world’s largest rainforest, and arguably one of its most vulnerable natural environments, it is the communities and cultures explored in...