Amazon Aquaculture Initiative

Fish Farmer Research

Fish Farmer Research

The fish ponds are not only a source of food for Secoya families; they also serve as laboratories to develop and improve methodologies appropriate to the local environment and culture. Secoya fish farmers are researchers identifying and solving the obstacles to sustainable Amazonian aquaculture. Cages have been designed and built to protect fish from predators and also to allow experimentation with feeding regimes and management techniques.

 

Secoya fish farmers collect fingerlings (juvenile fish) of a variety of species to try out in their fish ponds.

The project has also organized trips to a nearby wildlife refuge (formerly Secoya fishing grounds) to collect native fish as brood stock. These trips, approved by the Ministry of the Environment, have provided the Secoya with several new species that are now reproducing in project ponds. Of particular note are the cichlid species shown at the start of this photo essay.

These Amazon Projects pages are historical. For current information, please visit laslianas.org. All Indigenous Aquaculture photos: Jim Oldham.

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