Review of the large catfish fisheries in the upper Amazon and the stock depletion of piraı´ba (Brachyplatystoma filamentosum Lichtenstein) Miguel Petrere Jr. 1 , Ronaldo Borges Barthem 2 , Edwin Agudelo Co´rdoba 3 & Bernardo Corrales Go´mez 4 1 UNESP – Departamento de Ecologia, CP 199, 13506-900 RIO CLARO (SP), Brasil (Phone: +55-19- 3526-4237; Fax: +55-19-3526-4226; E-mail: mpetrere@rc.unesp.br); 2 Museu Paraense Emı´lio Goeldi, CP 399, 66040-170 Bele´m (PA), Brasil; 3 SINCHI – Instituto Amazo ˆnico de Investigaciones Cientificas da Colombia, Avenida Va ´squez Cobo Calles 15 y 16, Leticia, Amazonas, Colombia; 4 INCODER – Instituto Colombiano de Desarollo Rural, Calle 9 No. 10 – 90 Piso 2, Leticia, Amazonas, Colombia Accepted 20 December 2004 Contents Abstract page 403 Introduction 403 Materials and methods 404 Results 405 Discussion 407 Summary 412 Acknowledgements 413 References 413 Key words: Amazon, Brachyplatystoma filamentosum, catfish fisheries, piraı´ba Abstract In this paper we describe the present status of the large migratory catfish fisheries in the Upper Amazon. We present biological information about the main species and we give strong evidence that the stock of piraı´ba (Brachyplatystoma filamentosum), the largest catfish in the Amazon Basin is probably over- exploited. In conclusion, we raise some hypotheses about the causes and prospects for the future. Introduction Recently, the excess of fishing effort on marine fishes has attracted global concern. This is mostly directed at top-predator fisheries, such as sharks. Conservation becomes imperative given the inad- equacies of proper management of such stocks (Myers and Worm, 2003). A similar situation might be occurring in the Amazon River, with the over-exploitation of large, migratory catfishes, representing the last available fishery in this area. Catfishes, found mainly in whitewater tributaries, are the top predators of the Amazon River chan- nel. Catfish fisheries occur along the river channel, but they are common in the Amazon River estu- ary, and in some tributaries such as Ic¸a´/Putumayo and Japura´Caqueta´ (Figure 1). Among the species of catfishes, the piraiba (Brachyplatystoma filamentosum) stands out as one of the most important fishery. The names piraı´ba and filhote are used throughout the Amazon River basin to designate this species. But ‘‘piraı´ba’’ is mainly applied to specimens larger than 1.6 m (50 kg) and ‘‘filhote’’ for smaller specimens. There is some speculation that the two are different species, but this remains unconfirmed (Santos and Jegu, 2004). The landings of this species corre- spond to 5% of today’s total catch from the Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries (2004) 14: 403–414 Ó Springer 2005 DOI 10.1007/s11160-004-8362-7