Piraiba pictures

[Sunnyboy]

I've not seen Brachyplatystoma species being "farmed" in the same manner or volume that Pseudoplatystoma have been in South America. There are tons of places farming TSN species and hybrid versions of them with Leiarius or RTC's for food production though and pay lake fishing with some aquaculture mixed in as well.

I know we get Juruense and Tigrinus at small sizes and often times in near perfect condition with barbels/fins in tact but they still appear to be mostly seasonal which leads me to believe they are being wild caught generally and not captive bred. That said however the way a lot of the fish farming works in South America is with ponds tied directly into the river system for "filtration" so it could simply be the seasonality related to water levels on when the captive fish are breeding or harvestable from the ponds. To my knowledge acquiring small "Piraiba" whether they be Fila or Capa is not like catching small Dourada (Rousseauxii) where they are easily caught at certain points during their migration across Suriname. I cannot make the same assumptions for Brazilian or Peruvian specimens. I would also make the assumption that collecting small Brachyplatystoma of any type is easier and more widespread in Peru versus Suriname simply due to infrastructure and quantity of collectors operating in the region.

I know the table fare of the Brachyplatystoma species is considered lower than that of the Pseudoplatystoma species so it may not be so much that we don't have the means to produce them in aquaculture as much as it is lack of demand and slower growth rates providing smaller yields for their time investment.



The volume of them coming out of Peru I think could be related to what I mentioned above, more collectors available and more infrastructure. The way a lot of their aquaculture works they could be farm raising them in ponds tied to the river which would still create seasonal availability and the ability to provide small ones easily in relatively decent shape if they were seining them out and giving them some time to heal up prior to export. I just don't think there are a lot of breeders focusing on this if so simply based on the volume of them you see imported compared to that of say TSN or RTC. I would think it would be niche breeders if this was the case and not "commercial" because the $$$ just aren't there for them. Also with the better infrastructure there may be dependable collection points for juveniles that have become established over the years so the collectors can find small ones in schools at the right time of year. A complete assumption on my part again but seems reasonable based on the fact that I can find schools of baby channel cats or bullheads in the hundreds at the right times of year here in the states.

Interesting. Your idea of seasonal availability definately corresponds with how the piraiba are imported to Thailand only once a year and noticeably, within a 3 months range apart in terms of time of the year. Maybe there are other factors are running, but a possibility stands it could be accredited to how they are caught indeed. The fact that piraiba (like the dourada) are migratory and would form schools in such manner that would also allow them to be captured in decent numbers, like you've explained. I have seen a similar migratory school of juveniles in Hemibagrus species, and they are relatively easy to catch.

I previously though that piraiba meat was valued however, so its new knowledge to me that they fetch low table fares locally.

 

[amazonfishman]

Interesting. Your idea of seasonal availability definitely corresponds with how the Piraiba are imported to Thailand only once a year and noticeably, within a 3 months range apart in terms of time of the year. Maybe there are other factors are running, but a possibility stands it could be accredited to how they are caught indeed. The fact that Piraiba (like the Dourada) are migratory and would form schools in such manner that would also allow them to be captured in decent numbers, like you've explained. I have seen a similar migratory school of juveniles in Hemibagrus species, and they are relatively easy to catch.

I previously though that Piraiba meat was valued however, so its new knowledge to me that they fetch low table fares locally.

Yeah I know the Piraiba migrate too but haven't seen as much data on them congregating in large numbers like I have for the Dourada, they could very well be doing it at the same time and same location at least in Suriname but for whatever reason the Dourada seem to be getting hit harder by fisherman than their big brothers. The prime time I would think to catch them if they were wild caught would be starting near the end of this month or early August through the end of September which is the drier season down there in Suriname. Quite different for the dry season in most of Brazil which doesn't start until late November thru January and I assume is similar for Peru based on what I see imported at that time of the year. That said I was there the last week of July carrying over into the first week of August and never once saw a baby Dourada or Piraiba in the bait nets but I believe this was due to us being near the starting point of the migration route and not the end.

It's not that it doesn't have any value it just isn't preferred from what I saw. The locals only ate small Piraiba if they were going to die from being foul hooked so as not to waste any viable meat. They actually preferred Tarpon (mind blown when I saw this since in the states no one would even fathom eating a Tarpon), Corvina, or Pirahna all of which are easily available where I was in Suriname about 50 miles inland from the coast. They don't have any Pseudoplatystoma in that area really, for the most part you have to go quite a ways further inland towards Wonotobo Falls to find them in decent numbers and same for the RTC's.

Sorry for the derail