Controlled Fishing in Amazon Area Helps Save Huge Endangered Fish
2022-11-13
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1A controlled fishing system in Brazil's Amazon River area is helping to save an endangered fish.
2The fish is the pirarucú.
3It is also known in Brazil as arapaima.
4The pirarucú is believed to be the largest of 2,300 different kinds of fish known to live in the Amazon Basin.
5It can grow to be three meters long and weigh up to 200 kilograms.
6The fish mostly live in lakes across large areas of the Brazilian Amazon.
7They are carnivores, meaning they feed on other fish.
8The pirarucú is considered endangered because of overfishing.
9Illegal fishing activities left many communities struggling to find the fish, which traditionally is an important food.
10In recent years, however, illegal fishing of the pirarucú has been sharply reduced.
11And the fish has increasingly been recovering.
12The Associated Press (AP) reports the improvements came after efforts that included close cooperation between communities and complex logistics.
13One of the unusual things about pirarucú is that they need to breathe air to survive.
14The fish need to take at least one breath every 20 minutes.
15They rise to the surface to do so.
16This behavior by the fish makes it easier to count how many pirarucú are active in an area.
17A count of the fish is now carried out once a year by fishermen trained to use the method.
18By law, only 30 percent of pirarucú in a certain area can be fished the following year.
19Pirarucú fishing is now done once a year, around September, the period when water levels are lowest.
20Efforts have led to increases in the pirarucú population in areas where it is used.
21In the Sao Raimundo area, there were 1,335 pirarucús in nearby lakes in 2011, when controlled fishing began.
22Last year, records showed there were 4,092.
23In the Carauari area, the number of pirarucú rose from 4,916 to 46,839 between 2011 and 2021.
24Manoel Cunha leads a group of workers involved in the rubber trade in Sao Raimundo.
25He told the AP the controlled fishing efforts have greatly reduced illegal catch operations in the area.
26"You have been on this river for days now, and you have not seen any fishing boats except the ones from our organizations," Cunha said.
27"There is no more room for them here."
28A sister of Cunha, Rosilda, said the pirarucú bring money into the community.
29"Our pirarucú is so tasty, everybody that eats it falls in love with it and wants more," she said.
30In the Amazon, the fish is generally salted, sun dried and sold in local markets.
31It is also exported to the United States and Mexico.
32Processing of the fish is completed by members of the Association of Rural Producers of Carauari, known as Asproc.
33It is an organization created by local rubber workers who wanted to free themselves from slave-like working conditions.
34The organization permits community members to share in the profits of harvesting the fish.
35Asproc currently runs other programs on everything from waste control to community markets to higher education.
36The organization sells pirarucú to Brazil's main cities including Sao Paulo and Brasília.
37This is a complex process that involves several days of transportation by boat and road, taking up to two weeks.
38Asproc has formed partnerships with two American government agencies, the U.S. Forest Service and the Agency for International Development (USAID).
39Both have supported the area's controlled fishing and processing operations.
40"This project is unique as it requires a strong governance structure," said Ted Gehr, USAID's mission director in Brazil.
41"Everybody is in agreement that they may have to sacrifice and not be able to fish all of the pirarucú that are available... but knowing that they'll reproduce more, and that in the long run they will be more valuable," Gehr added.
42I'm Bryan Lynn.
1A controlled fishing system in Brazil's Amazon River area is helping to save an endangered fish. 2The fish is the pirarucú. It is also known in Brazil as arapaima. The pirarucú is believed to be the largest of 2,300 different kinds of fish known to live in the Amazon Basin. It can grow to be three meters long and weigh up to 200 kilograms. 3The fish mostly live in lakes across large areas of the Brazilian Amazon. They are carnivores, meaning they feed on other fish. 4The pirarucú is considered endangered because of overfishing. Illegal fishing activities left many communities struggling to find the fish, which traditionally is an important food. 5In recent years, however, illegal fishing of the pirarucú has been sharply reduced. And the fish has increasingly been recovering. The Associated Press (AP) reports the improvements came after efforts that included close cooperation between communities and complex logistics. 6One of the unusual things about pirarucú is that they need to breathe air to survive. The fish need to take at least one breath every 20 minutes. They rise to the surface to do so. 7This behavior by the fish makes it easier to count how many pirarucú are active in an area. A count of the fish is now carried out once a year by fishermen trained to use the method. By law, only 30 percent of pirarucú in a certain area can be fished the following year. 8Pirarucú fishing is now done once a year, around September, the period when water levels are lowest. 9Efforts have led to increases in the pirarucú population in areas where it is used. In the Sao Raimundo area, there were 1,335 pirarucús in nearby lakes in 2011, when controlled fishing began. Last year, records showed there were 4,092. 10In the Carauari area, the number of pirarucú rose from 4,916 to 46,839 between 2011 and 2021. 11Manoel Cunha leads a group of workers involved in the rubber trade in Sao Raimundo. He told the AP the controlled fishing efforts have greatly reduced illegal catch operations in the area. "You have been on this river for days now, and you have not seen any fishing boats except the ones from our organizations," Cunha said. "There is no more room for them here." 12A sister of Cunha, Rosilda, said the pirarucú bring money into the community. "Our pirarucú is so tasty, everybody that eats it falls in love with it and wants more," she said. 13In the Amazon, the fish is generally salted, sun dried and sold in local markets. It is also exported to the United States and Mexico. 14Processing of the fish is completed by members of the Association of Rural Producers of Carauari, known as Asproc. It is an organization created by local rubber workers who wanted to free themselves from slave-like working conditions. 15The organization permits community members to share in the profits of harvesting the fish. 16Asproc currently runs other programs on everything from waste control to community markets to higher education. The organization sells pirarucú to Brazil's main cities including Sao Paulo and Brasília. This is a complex process that involves several days of transportation by boat and road, taking up to two weeks. 17Asproc has formed partnerships with two American government agencies, the U.S. Forest Service and the Agency for International Development (USAID). Both have supported the area's controlled fishing and processing operations. 18"This project is unique as it requires a strong governance structure," said Ted Gehr, USAID's mission director in Brazil. "Everybody is in agreement that they may have to sacrifice and not be able to fish all of the pirarucú that are available... but knowing that they'll reproduce more, and that in the long run they will be more valuable," Gehr added. 19I'm Bryan Lynn. 20The Associated Press reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. 21______________________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23logistics - n. the practical arrangements and process for something 24unique - v. different from everyone or everything else 25sacrifice - n. something valuable you give up in order to achieve something 26_________________________________________________________________ 27What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 28Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.