The North Rupununi Wetlands encompass 16 Amerindian (Indigenous) Communities and an area that reaches from Yupukari Village on the Rupununi River in the south to Apoteri Village in the north on the Essequibo River. Overall, this wetland is over 11,460 square km or 1,146,000 ha.
Fish are an essential resource for the Makushi People in the North Rupununi. As communities and populations grow, there are increasing pressures on the fisheries resources. Acknowledging this, the North Rupununi District Development Board (NRDDB) has been working towards fisheries management and Arapaima management to ensure livelihoods of the people in the North Rupununi.
The NRDDB has been working to implement the Arapaima Management Plan since its creation in 2002. Arapaima gigas are the largest, scaled freshwater fish in the world and are listed as ?data deficient? on the IUCN Redlist. As they are large fish, the meat is highly valued and as they are rare in their range, they are also sought after in the sport fishing industry. Local and international scientists worked together to survey the existing population of Arapaima in the area and then based on this extremely low figure (approx. 400 adult fish) in 2002, the Arapaima Management Plan, a conservation, monitoring and management plan to ensure the growth and sustainable management of this essential fisheries resource, was developed. Locally owned and managed, it has become an example of successful community conservation and the Arapaima population has grown to enable a sustainable harvest which was written into the plan and supported by the Ministry of Agriculture.
This projectl seeks to continue work on implementing the North Rupununi Community Based Fisheries Management Plan and the Arapaima Management program by providing support for community consultations regarding the Fisheries Plan and on-going counts, monitoring, review, update and implementation of the 2002 Arapaima Management Plan.