Factual
River Monsters episode 5: Amazon Assassins
Biologist and extreme angler Jeremy Wade goes in search of the arapaima fish, which has swum in the waters of the Amazon, virtually unchanged, since the Cretaceous period.
Arapaima have been caught measuring up to ten feet long, making them the largest freshwater fish in the world’s largest river. But in recent years, they have been relentlessly overfished and today they are so rare it is forbidden to catch them in most areas. However, they are potentially found throughout the countless thousand miles of river that make up the Amazon Basin and Jeremy has good reason for counting them as river monsters.
He explains: “It was seven years ago and…while drawing in a net with an arapaima trapped inside, this hard-nosed giant turned from fish into a Polaris missile. From nowhere, I had 100 pounds of solid bone smash into my sternum. I was lucky to escape with deep bruising. Weeks later, the doctor described my injury as similar to the impact of striking the steering column during a car crash. I’m not saying this is some malignant creature that will deliberately hunt and eat you. It doesn’t have the mouth for it. But corner one of these beasts and it will launch a pre-emptive strike.”
Jeremy starts his quest in Manaus, the town at the heart of the Amazon where he views arapaima up close in a tank. But he soon realises that he needs to lay the ghost of his past experience with the creatures to rest. Since a ban was imposed on commercial fishing, a few enterprising ribeirinhos, or “river people,” have started to legally farm arapaima to satisfy the demand for their meat. After meeting arapaima farmer Senhor Alegria, Jeremy faces his fear by getting into a tank with 35 of the fish as they jump while the ribeirinhos try to catch them.
Jeremy says: “It’s a simple matter of netting one, but this is exactly what I was doing when I took the full force of an arapaima head-butt to the chest. And I have been warned that these fish are particularly violent when cornered.”
With the help of Senhor Alegria and the other arapaima farmers, Jeremy is able to hold one of the fish in his arms and admits that his fear has turned to respect for their shear muscular power. But to try and catch one in the wild he has to travel deep into the uncharted reaches of the Amazon, where the indigenous people of the region are still able to catch them for food. Jeremy meets the Munduruku people, an ancient tribe who still retain their connection to wildlife and to the myths and legends of old.
One of the tribe’s top fisherman, Manel, takes Jeremy out fishing in a small wooden canoe. Arapaima are air breathers, an adaptation that allows them to live in the oxygen-depleted lakes that form in the Amazon’s dry season. But it is also a vital clue for fishermen. Every time they break the surface, they give away their presence.
But Jeremy finds it hard to spot the arapaima. He says: “We’ve been paddling around here for a fair old while and [Manel]’s actually seen, pointed out, a couple of fish surfacing, but to be honest, I actually couldn’t see anything at all. I think I’ve got quite a way to go until I properly get my eye in.”
It’s time for Jeremy to put everything he’s learnt into practice. He says: “I’m told there is another small lake in the forest, where line fishing is allowed for arapaima, as long as it’s catch and release. We can’t take the canoe there, but we can go on foot…Maybe there’s going to be something that I can get a bait at over there.”
Along with his local guide Jeremy has a half an hour battle with an arapaima but eventually gets the better of the 150 pound female beast. He says: “I finally have the proof in my arms that huge arapaima are still out here. This is a true dinosaur of the deep.”
As the fish is an air breather, Jeremy gives it some time to recover before releasing it back into the water.
Having felt the power and strength of an arapaima, Jeremy says: “I set out on my mission to show that the arapaima is an underestimated fish, capable of extraordinary feats of strength.
“If cornered, trapped, or netted, it becomes a formidable opponent, an airborne missile…Now, this is a real river monster.”
Last edited: Monday, 23 November 2009
