Current situation of freshwater aquaculture in the lower Amazon River and the potentiality of development

Abstract

Aquaculture is regarded as a promising sector with its high feed efficiency and land productivity. However, capture fishery is still dominant in the northern states containing the Amazon River, where relatively late start of infrastructure development and insufficient administrative services are pointed out as the constraints. We applied snow-ball sampling in the northeast coast of Pará state and conducted interviews to nurseries and hatcheries to find current situation and the obstacles. The results of 21 privately-owned nurseries and hatcheries revealed that fishponds were constructed inside farms utilizing natural water sources; tilapia, an invasive alien species, and Serrasalmid and Pimelodid hybrids were commonly cultured; no respondents were or had been engaged in capture fishery; and aquaculture was rather regarded as a second job by farmers and stockbreeders. Distance from administrative supports favorably functioned in a sense because the aquaculturists were free from the government control. It can be expected that the water system of fishponds provides an incentive to preserve forests surrounding water sources and reservoirs.