PIRARUCU

The Pirarucu (Arapaima gigas), also referred to as arapaima or paiche, is a South American tropical freshwater fish. It is one of the largest freshwater fish species in the world, reportedly with a maximum length in excess of nine feet and weight up to 450 pounds. As one of the most sought after food fish species in the Amazon, it is often captured by spearing for local villagers to consume and even for export, and, consequently, large Pirarucu are becoming scarce in the wild today. The diet of the Pirarucu consists of other fish or even small animals, including birds. These fish also has the ability to breathe air from the surface due to a lung-like lining of its throat, an advantage in oxygen-deprived water that is often found in the Amazon Watershed. Since the arapaima needs to swim at the surface to breathe air, local native anglers often catch them by harpooning them. One large pirarucu can yield as much as 70 kg of meat.  Although they will occasionally fall victim to a topwater lure, they are most apt to take a jerkbait. While many fish are caught accidentally, as the angler fishes for peacock bass, the guides are becoming adept at locating these fish in quiet lagoons and they are targeted almost like shallow cruising tarpon. We land several giant pirarucus each year on the Unini River.