Arapaima is exploited in many ways by local human populations. Its
tongue is thought to have medicinal qualities in South America. It is dried and combined with
guarana bark, which is grated and mixed into water. Doses are given to kill
intestinal worms. The bony tongue is used to scrape cylinders of dried guarana, an ingredient in some beverages, and the bony scales are used as nail files. Arapaima produce boneless steaks and are considered a delicacy. In the Amazon region, locals often salt and dry the meat, rolling it into a cigar-style package that is then tied and can be stored without rotting, which is important in a region with little refrigeration. Arapaima are referred to as the "cod of the Amazon", and can be prepared in the same way as traditional salted cod. Designers have begun using the skin of the arapaima as leather to make jackets, shoes, and handbags, and to cover furniture. In July 2009, villagers around
Kenyir Lake in
Terengganu, Malaysia, reported sighting
A. gigas. The "Kenyir monster", or "dragon fish" as the locals call it, was claimed to be responsible for the mysterious drowning of two men on 17June. In August 2018,
India Times reported that arapaima has been spotted in the
Chalakudy River, following floods in
Kerala; their presence in India is attributed to illegal importation for
fish farming. The arapaima is depicted on both the flag and the seal of the
Department of Ucayali,
Peru.
Fishing Wild arapaima are
harpooned or caught in large nets. Since the arapaima needs to surface to breathe air, traditional arapaima fishermen harpoon them and then club them to death. An individual fish can yield as much as of meat. The arapaima was introduced for fishing in
Thailand and
Malaysia. Fishing in Thailand can be done in several lakes, where specimens over are often landed and then released. On 14 May 2020, a specimen was found floating in the river in Angkor Wat area, Krovanh village, Sangkat Norkor Thom, Siem Reap,
Cambodia; the locals said it was a rare fish, and not commonly seen in this area. With catch-and-release after the fish is landed, it must be held for 5 minutes until it takes a breath. The fish has a large blood vessel running down its spine, so lifting the fish clear of the water for trophy shots can rupture this vessel, causing death.
Aquaculture In 2013,
Whole Foods began selling
farm-raised arapaima in the United States as a cheaper alternative to
halibut or
Chilean sea bass. In Thailand, the only legal breeding farm is located in Tambon Phrong Maduea,
Amphoe Mueang Nakhon Pathom,
Nakhon Pathom Province. This has been approved by both the Department of Fisheries and
CITES since early 2018, and has been exporting them worldwide as an aquarium fish.
Conservation Arapaima are particularly vulnerable to overfishing because of their size and because they must surface periodically to breathe. Some 7000 tons per year were taken from 1918 to 1924, the height of commercial arapaima fishing; demand led to farming of the fish by native
ribeirinhos. As efforts at restricting catches were largely unsuccessful, arapaima fishing was banned outright in Brazil in 1996, due to declining populations. Indeed, a 2014 study found that the fish were depleted or
overexploited at 93% of the sites examined and well-managed or unfished in only 7%; the fish appeared to be
extirpated in 19% of these sites. The status of the arapaima population in the Amazon River Basin is unknown, hence it is listed on the
IUCN red list as
data deficient. Conducting a population census in so large an area is difficult, as is monitoring catches in a trade that was once largely
unregulated. Since 1999, both subsistence and commercial fishing have been permitted in specially designated areas under a sophisticated sustainable management strategy. This approach has led to massive recovery of once-depleted stocks; in a sampling of 10 areas conducted using traditional counting methods, the population was found to have grown from 2,500 in 1999 to over 170,000 in 2017.
Colombia only bans fishing and consumption of the arapaima between 1 October and 15 March, during breeding season. ==Gallery==