The most awaited fishing

Carauari (AM) – “Uôôô!”, shouted the Denis running through the camp to the clearing to see the arrival of the fish below, in the Xeruã River. “Three!”, “Eight!”, announced as the canoes touched the floating. But there were nine arapaima in the first wave, which indicated the success of the fisheries handled with pirarucu and one more reason for the deni to spend morning, afternoon, night and dawn talking, telling a joke and laughing, between a change and another of the management team. In much less time than they predicted – a day instead of three – they captured the 50 fish authorized by the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama).

As soon as they arrived at the floating, the immense arapaimas were heavy, washed, eviscerated, measured, and received the identification seal, as the rules of management say. After that, they went on a glacier boat to the mouth of the Xeruã River, passing through a rapid path that required a lot of attention from drivers. Four of them went to Itamarati Fair. The other 46 The Association of Rural Producers of Carauari (ASPROC) acquired, carrying out the flow with the managers of the Sustainable Development Reserve (RDS) Uacari and the Medium Juruá Extractive Reserve, who are also doing their fishing, and have the support of OPAN through the project arapaima: productive networks, executed with resources from the Amazon Fund.

“We are very happy,” said Poaravi Makhuvi Deni, from the village of Morada Nova. He counted the steps taken to achieve today’s consolidating sustainable management of arapaima. The process includes from the demarcation of the territory, the creation of its Association of the Deni People of the Xeruã River (Aspodex), the elaboration of the territorial management plan and management practices, such as territorial surveillance and all stages of pirarucu management, aimed at conservation. “You have to tell our story,” he said.

In addition to the benefits that management has already brought to the organization of the Deni and conservation, now with the income generated in fishing there will be other gains in improving the quality of life of the Deni people, as explained by the vice president of Aspodex, Pha’avi Hava Deni, from Aldeia Boiador. “Management is good to be able to purchase products from the city, and to, for example, hire consultants who can give workshops to us, as the craft”. He also showed the collective dimension of his management, whose gains formally decided to allocate for the next fishing and to carry out your projects.

strategic exchange exchange

The success of the Deni’s managed fishing also has to do with the support of the Paumari of the Tapauá River, recognized for the quality and rigor of their management, who followed everything relentlessly. They said that the Deni are on the right track, but they made it clear that there is still something to improve. They mentioned, for example, that at the time of weighing and cleaning the fish they could have a more precise division of the work, as explained by José Lino Vinino da Silva Paumari. He and Sebastião Basque de Assis Paumari congratulated the Deni for their management and invited them to go to their indigenous lands in Tapauá. “Congratulations are mainly due to the amount of fish they have in the lakes”, highlighted Sebastião, referring to the conservation work they have been doing.

“I want to get experience with the boys[Paumari]To have more practice next year”, said Darawi Amilton Kanamari (who lives in the village of Deni Itaúba), detailing why he was so dedicated to the activity, turning the night around and still helping the floating team the next morning. Tarsila dos Reis Menezes, an indigenist at Opan, highlighted that the exchange of experience with the Paumari is very important for the management of the Deni because that is how they are starting the work in the best possible way. “They are learning the right way with the Paumari, without addictions”, he said, remembering that André and Francisco Paumari were very important in the 2016 Experimental Fishing And that since the beginning of the Arapaima project, the Deni have been following through conversations and the video”Paumari – The People of Water” their work.

“The management was sensational. It could not have been better”, said community management researcher João Vítor Campos-Silva, known as JB. He noted that this is a result of the organization and involvement of all Deni villages, in addition to partner support. “Next to them has Asproc, which can be a great ally in the flow of products”, he highlighted. Campos-Silva spoke about the importance of pirarucu management in its various dimensions, explaining that it is a successful community resource management experience based on the association between conservation and improvement of quality of life. “This is one of the most concrete sustainable development projects that exist, one of the most successful examples on a global scale”, he emphasized.

Like the Deni, Opan is very happy with their fishing, with whom he has worked since before the demarcation, participating in the entire process of arapaima management, always from the perspective of a partnership with the people, who are the protagonists in their achievements: “It is important to be aware that the aphani [dinheiro]who will win is the result of their own efforts”, made a point of highlighting the indigenist of Opan Renato Rodrigues Rocha in a meeting held at night at the camp, after fishing. He and Tarsila once again mentioned the organization of the Deni people, who are even stronger with the management: “what we think is most important is that everyone is united”, said Tarsila Menezes. During the meeting there were emotional moments, but soon after the conversation about the management, she followed with the typical astral of the Deni who soon were already on another topic, talking about territorial surveillance. After all, fishing is over, but it is only a part of the story.