NEWS108
30
nSeptember 1991 the self-styled "fish-
nerd“ Scott Dowd fromMassachusetts
fulfilleda long-cherisheddream.He trave-
led in the Amazon region, the home of
someof themostpopular freshwaterorna-
mental fishes such as the Cardinal Tetra
and the Discus. "At sunrisemy boat was
afloat on the RioNegro, flocks of squaw-
kingmacaws traversed the sky,andother-
toManaus,around450kmaway.The fishes
weredelivered to theexporters there,who
thendispatched themall over theworld.
His first reactionwas,"Something isn't right
here, somanywild-caught fishes leaving
the region“. But nowadays, 23 years later,
he knows better: "The collectingof orna-
mental fishes in this regionmakes an im-
portant contribution to the regional eco-
nomywhilesimultaneously conserving its
resourcesandhencepreserving the rainfo-
rest in itsoriginal form“. It isa fact that the
roughly40,000 inhabitantsof theBarcelos
region earnup to around 60%of their li-
ving from collecting ornamental fishes –
the localscall thempiaba (= little fish).
And thus arose the idea of the Project
PiabaEcoAmazon, andwhenScottDowd
isn't busy training Electric Eels orworking
withAnacondas at his current workplace,
theNewEnglandAquarium inBoston,then
he invests every spareminute in promo-
ting and supporting this project, which
was founded incollaboration with theUni-
versity ofManaus andwith support from
theUnitedNations. Its declaredgoal is to
conduct thecollectionofpiaba,theunique
ornamental fishesof theAmazon region,in
"Buya fishandsavea tree" isat firstglancea rather incomprehensiblestate-
ment,but it's true!As theexportofmore than30millionornamental fishes
per year from theAmazon region inBrazilmakes an important contribu-
tion to the retentionof the rainforest andprovides a living for the indige-
nouspopulationof the region.amtra,asamanufacturerofaquariummain-
tenanceproducts,hasbeen supporting theproject for years.
Buya fishandsave
a tree
byUlrichGlaser,GeschäftsführerAmtraCrociGmbH
Environment
med with gorgeous ornamental fishes,
many of whichhe had kept in the aqua-
rium sincehewas ten years old.Andnow
hehadcome to theplacewhere these fis-
hes were found, Barcelos, a town in the
heartof theAmazon region.
Butwhenhe arrived therehewas initially
horrified.On the riverbankhe foundamul-
titude ofmenwhohad tiedup their little
boats and were delivering hand-woven,
plastic-linedbaskets filledwithwater and
containing masses of ornamental fishes
caught in the nearby rivers and streams.
The collecting areaworkedby the fisher-
menwasaround75,000km²,aboutaquar-
ter of the size of Germany.The collecting
baskets were loaded onto a passenger
steamer where they occupied the entire
lowerdeck.Thesteamer transported them
Typical forest stream (igarapé) inBrazil,home
to innumerableaquarium fishes.
wise there was just endless water and
green forest as far as thehorizon“, remem-
bersScott.Thewaterbeneathhisboat tee-
Underwater scene in the igarapé:
Hemigrammusbellottii,Curimatopsisevelynae,Nannostomusunifascia-
tus,Apistogrammaagassizii,Dicrossusmaculatus
- ahuge,colorful aquarium!
I
