Development of a model of community-based management of Arapaima spp. While working at the Mamirauá Institute, Brazil, Leandro and his colleagues played a key role in developing, implementing, and disseminating the most effective model for the sustainable use of arapaima in Brazil, Peru, and Guyana. This model has recovered populations of arapaima several fold and yielded increasing catches for local fishers. The number of communities managing the arapaima through this model has increased from four in 1999 to over 200 currently.
Establishment of new regulation. The government of the State of Amazonas in Brazil issued a new regulation in 2004 establishing that rural fishers can harvest the arapaima only if the fishers present stock assessments. The stock assessments have to be done using the methodology that Leandro developed (Castello 2004), which allows expert fishers to count the arapaima accurately. This regulation is important because it constitutes the only means for fishers to exploit the arapaima legally in the State of Amazonas. The same regulation was established in the State of Acre in Brazil in 2008, covering 25% of the basin area. The establishment of such regulation is being considered in the Pará State of Brazil.
Development of Guyana’s first freshwater fisheries management plan. Also while working at the Mamirauá Institute, Brazil, Leandro led the development of the first freshwater fisheries management plan of Guyana, involving directly 14 Amerindian villages (~3,500 people), and various nongovernmental organizations, governmental agencies and ministries. The plan is entitled, “The Management Plan for Arapaima (Arapaima gigas) in the North Rupununi, Guyana: A Pilot Project under the Fisheries Act (2002)”; it was approved in congress in 2007.
Development of a legal and institutional framework for floodplain ecosystem management in the Amazon. More recently, while working at the Woods Hole Research Center in collaboration with the Institute for Environmental Research of the Amazon (IPAM), Leandro was involved in the design, development, and implementation of a policy and institutional framework for ecosystem management in the Lower Amazon region. This framework is the first ever of its type in the Amazon, encompassing 99 riverine communities and various regional governmental and non-governmental organizations.
Ongoing development and implementation of a policy and institutional framework for the sustainable management of arapaima populations in the Lower Amazon region. We have assessed arapaima populations in over 100 lakes, trained over 274 people in sustainable fisheries management, and now are working with local communities to develop community-based arapaima management plans.