Fishing area, effort, and yield

Abstract

The drainage system centering on the Rio Madeira can be divided into three main commercial fishing regions: 1) Beginning upriver, the first is the large area embracing the Rio Beni, Rio Mamore, and Rio Guapore. The Rio Beni lies entirely within Bolivia, while the Rio Mamore and Rio Guapore are shared with Brazil. Large-scale commercial fishing began in this region only in the late 1970’s when Brazilian refrigeration companies began buying fishes and exporting them to Southern and Southeastern Brazil, Porto Velho (Rondonia), and Rio Branco (Acre). The Brazilian city of Guajara-Mirim on the right bank of the Rio Mamore serves as the main fisheries port of the region, including nearby Eastern Bolivia. In 1979, at least 700 tons of fish were exported through Guajara-Mirim. 2) In total area the largest fisheries region of the Rio Madeira is that dominated by the Porto Velho fishing fleet, and this embraces the area of the rapids in the upper course of the river to just below the Rio Aripuana. The largest annual catch from this region was about 1,800 tons in 1974, but yields have declined considerably in recent years (see below). This is the region that will be discussed in detail below. 3) The lower course of the Rio Madeira is, for all practical purposes, part of the Central Amazon fisheries region, serving mostly Manaus, but also smaller cities such as Itacoatiara. The lower Rio Madeira lies closer to Manaus (on the Rio Negro) and Itacoatiara (on the middle Rio Amazonas) than it does to Porto Velho. In 1977, at least 2,400 tons of fish captured in the lower Rio Madeira entered the Manaus market (Bayley 1978); the Itacoatiara fleet also exploited the lower Rio Madeira but its catches were not recorded.