TABLE 10. Minimum capture size allowed for some migratory fish species in the Colombian Amazon⁹¹³

⁹¹³ Agreements 015/87 & 075/87; Valderrama-Barco, 1986

In order to meet the above guidelines, regulatory actions have been proposed. However, restrictions on fish size, gear type and closed seasons are usually unenforceable and may even hinder the gathering of information needed for management.

Aquaculture

Some technical, social and cultural constraints need to be removed before fish culture takes hold in the Colombian Amazon.⁹¹⁴ Although migratory fish species have been gaining acceptance by consumers at the national level and are receiving more attention from marketers, the Amazon region has yet to become fully involved in this process. Experimental culture of native migratory species such as C. macropomum, P. brachypomus, Brycon spp., and P. nigricans have been achieved, yet economic feasibility of culture in the Amazon Basin remains low due to high transport and feed costs.⁹¹⁵ Other promising species for aquaculture like Pseudoplatystoma spp., S. lima and L. marmoratus have come under scrutiny, but more knowledge of their biology is required to overcome limiting factors in their culture (such as cannibalism, spermiation in captivity, and the acceptance of economically viable diets).

No particular policy and management system exists in Colombia to assess and control the risk and uncertainty imposed by the introduction of non-native species and the release of cultured migratory species outside their natural habitats. Stocking migratory species like Prochilodus spp., P. brachypomus and P. fasciatum has been reported for all of the most important basins in Colombia, including the Amazon.⁹¹⁶ Both government and the private sector, without any attendant monitoring of results have carried out these stocking programs.

Reserves and Protected Areas

Reserves established for lakes and small streams represent only a limited portion of the important or threatened migratory fish habitats and are of little use in protecting the most vulnerable commercial catfish species.

⁹¹⁴ TCA, 1995

⁹¹⁵ TCA, 1995; SINCHI et al., 1996

⁹¹⁶ L. Trujillo, pers. comm.

Since most of these species depend on seasonal flooding of the forest as their main source of food and shelter, the forests themselves should be included in reserves as the main habitat to be protected throughout the basin.

Data Collecting System

Data on Colombian Amazon fisheries are mostly based on the total catch recorded by INPA at freezer packing plants and ports. The data are, however, likely biased by the vested interest in under-reporting catches. These data are of some use in analysing resource dynamics related to production, but are insufficient to establish the potential exploitation level of the resource. Studies on spatial and temporal dynamics of migratory fish species should be integrated with data on exploitation to clarify the impact of intensive fishing, such as the fishing for Brachyplatystoma spp. in torrents and rapids of the Caquetá River – something that is not yet possible.⁹¹⁷

Information gathered on Colombian fisheries occasionally includes data on lengths and weights, minimum maturing size and reproductive periods, but most available statistics present only the monthly and yearly captures and a brief comment on the three most important species (B. vaillanti, B. flavicans, and Pseudoplatystoma spp.) Studies like those of Rodríguez-Fernández (1991, 1999) in the Middle Caquetá River Basin, carried out in collaboration with local indigenous communities, have been fundamental in obtaining a preliminary picture of migratory fish exploitation and in understanding the socio-economic and cultural framework surrounding the fisheries.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CONSERVATION AND RESEARCH

Colombian Amazon fisheries are threatened by agriculture and antidrug activities in Colombia, but are also affected by development in the Brazilian Amazon, which makes their sustainable management a transboundary issue. Fisheries management and mitigation of hazards are greatly hampered not only by lack of knowledge of the various species

⁹¹⁷ Rodriguez-Fernández, 1999

but also by lack of co-operation between the two countries. Since fish recognise no geographic frontiers an international and integrated approach to management and conservation is required. A standardised information system for transboundary fisheries is an old and frequently recognised need⁹¹⁸ yet to be fulfilled. Co-operative research, information gathering and cross-boundary planning (e.g. Brazil-Colombia) are hardly in evidence,⁹¹⁹ yet co-ordinated efforts at fisheries data collection and management should be adopted by countries sharing the Amazon Basin, particularly Brazil and Colombia in the case of Brachyplatystoma spp. This will be a difficult task, considering the huge area, and will need a community of interests made up of federal officials, scientists, local fishermen and business people.⁹²⁰

The multiplicity of agencies and institutions involved in the Amazon Basin at the national, state and local levels creates a challenge for catchment-based management and decision-making. In Colombia, national institutions like INPA make decisions centrally and local agents have little influence on these governing institutions. Yet the state is unable to co-ordinate activities on the scale required for areas as large as the Amazon Basin. A more inclusive data collection system is also needed, to monitor the evolution of fishing units, local income from fishing and changes in lifestyle of indigenous groups as economic expectations are increasing and alternatives for employment are decreasing.

The research required to understand the biological and ecological aspects of all the migratory fish species of the Amazon Basin is complex and time-consuming, yet it is a prerequisite for sustainable management. At the very least, it is vital to begin research on life histories of the most threatened species and to identify and define more precisely the particular habitats involved in the spawning and growth of early life history stages. Since a good deal of the basic infrastructure as well as the actual and potential human capacity for research and monitoring lies within universities and NGOs, scientists are suited to an important role in understanding what is probably the most complex aquatic ecosystem on Earth. Scientists must address several key issues in migratory fish biology. Identification and management of spawning areas, migratory routes, movement patterns and distribution mechanisms are key needs along the road to achieving sustainable fisheries. Special efforts should be made

⁹¹⁸ Bayley, 1981; Bayley & Petrere, 1989; TCA, 1995; Barthem & Goulding, 1997

⁹¹⁹ TCA, 1995

⁹²⁰ as mentioned by Barthem & Goulding, 1997

to construct preliminary models of habitat use for the most important commercial migratory species. Such models will allow scientists to identify information needs and assess threats at the species, ecosystem, and population or community levels.

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