Influence of seasonal fluctuations of the Madeira River level in the southern Brazilian Amazon fisheries

Abstract

The Amazon basin encompasses the most diverse fauna of freshwater fish and the greatest potential for inland fisheries of any river basin in the world. Given this, the present study characterized the fish stocks of the Madeira River and analyzed the influence of seasonal fluctuations in river levels on the local fish fauna. This analysis was based on fishery catch data obtained from the “Dr. Renato Pereira Gonçalves” (Z-31) fishing cooperative in the municipality of Humaitá in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. The data collected for each excursion included the location of the fishing grounds exploited, the period of the fishing trip, the species captured, and the total catch (kg), for the 10-year period between 2001 and 2010. A total of 47 taxa were recorded, representing 16 families and five orders. During the study period, a total of 3,001,468 kg of fish were landed at Humaitá. The Characiformes was the predominant order, contributing 77,7% of the total catch. The most abundant fishes were the pacu, curimatã and jaraqui. The catches landed at Humaitá presented considerable seasonal variation, related primarily to the fluctuations in the level of the river and the migratory behavior of the principal species captured.