Sciences au Sud n°47 - novembre / décembre 2008
December 2008
- Another step towards domestication of the Amazonian giant fish
The Amazon and its tributaries harbour nearly one-tenth of the world’s biodiversity of freshwater fish. Among the 2500 species recorded, Arapaima gigas is one of the most emblematic.
In Brazil it is better known as the pirarucu, in Peru as the paiche, and is one of the largest species of freshwater fish. Some specimens can reach 4 m in length with a weight of 200 kg.
This graceful predator has become a victim of over-fishing, however, and figures on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
- Interview with Bernard Delay,
Bernard Delay chairs the Fondation pour la recherche sur la biodiversité, an institution set up in 2008 with the participation of eight scientific organizations including the IRD
