28th ANNUAL EASTERN FISH HEALTH WORKSHOP April 21-25, 2003 Project Piaba:  Saving The Rain Forest Through Fisheries Robert Cooper and Scott Weber New England Aquarium, Central Wharf, Boston, MA 02110. Project Piaba is an organization dedicated to the observation of the collection and export of ornamental fish from the Rio Negro basin, Amazonas, Brazil. One of its aims is to assess whether the ornamental fish trade conserves other floodplain and rain forest resources.  From the igarape' (forest stream) to the exporters in Manaus, Project Piaba has observed and documented all facets of the trade, from the catching of fish to the socio-cultural features of the fishery. Project Piaba is not a government agency, but it is a group of like-minded people aiming to provide a framework in which to scientifically investigate the ornamental fishery in this region. Funded through grants and private donations, the Project has done tremendous work in the middle region of the Rio Negro basin.  The Rio Negro basin is a major area for the collection, exportation and distribution of ornamental fishes worldwide. Over 60,000,000 fish are exported every year from Manaus. About 80% of these are the very familiar Cardinal tetra (Paracheirodon axelrodi) and the trade in ornamental fish provides 60% of the income for the region around Barcelos, Amazonas, Brazil. Through concern for the potential of overfishing, one of the inter-disciplinary goals of Project Piaba is to monitor and evaluate fish health throughout the process, from capture to arrival of the fish at the importer.  During December of 2002 a group of scientists from New England Aquarium, National Aquarium in Baltimore, University of the Amazonas, IPNA, and the Ministry of Agriculture in Brazil left Manaus for Barcelos. Their intention was to focus studies on the Cardinal tetra, the mascot fish of Project Piaba. Operational problems during the journey, including hitting a sandbar, meant we had to adjust our plans. However, despite the setbacks we still conducted considerable research.  Health assessments of fish at the fishing sites, in holding pens, during transport, at arrival at exporters’ facilities and, finally, on arrival at the importers should give us valuable data on how the fish are stressed throughout the whole process.  Knowledge gained through this work will help to ensure that those responsible for the fishery management will be able to run a commercially viable set-up in an ecologically sensitive manner. Return to 28th Annual Eastern Fish Health Workshop Return to Leetown Science Center Home Page