Fishing On The Amazon:

Fish is the only common meat eaten by the people living on the Amazon! They eat it for lunch, dinner, snacks – and sometimes even breakfast! They eat many different kinds, and have many different ways of fishing, and different techniques for different fish! They catch the fish to sell, to eat, to feed to animals, or to use as bait for other fish! Fish is their main food!

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Types Of Fish Commonly-Caught:

The main fish caught by these people are;

• Red-bellied piranha.
• Black piranha.
• Electric eel.
• Peacock bass.
• Tiger-shovel-nosed-catfish.
• Tambaqui.
• Red-tailed catfish.
• Dogfish.
• Pancake string-rays.
• Arapaima.

Some, like the Arapaima, are gigantic fish! Others, like the small peacock bass, are not that large at all! Tambaqui is most-likely the most-liked fish eaten on the Amazon River or Rio Negro!

Ways Of Catching The Fish:

People use many different ways of catching fish, depending on the type and size of the fish they are trying to catch! Here are the three most-common ways;

• Nets.
• Spears.
• Rods.

Nets:
Nets are most-likely the easiest and most-efficient way to catch the fish. You just put your net in an area one night, and the next you come and get what you caught. The net depends on the fish you are trying to catch! If you were to catch a sting-ray, you’d use a normal net. However, if you were trying to catch a giant Arapaima, that would be MUCH MORE difficult, and you’d need a much bigger and stronger net!

Spears:
Spears are used more for fun then actually trying to get food. However, many people still use them as ways to catch fish to sell or eat. They are sharp, and if used correctly can catch many fish!

Rods:
Rods, yet again, are used more for those tourists. Nets are the best. However, if the right bait is used, in the right spot and the fishers are patient, many fish can be caught by using rods!

What Do People Do With The Fish?

People eat them. Most of the fish caught are eaten, but are lot are taken to large fish markets, where they are sold. People also get them to feed their animals if animal-food is scarce or expensive. People don’t normally try to get fish to bait their rods or traps. Instead, if they catch a fish like a dogfish, (which isn’t very good to eat), they will use it to bait their rod, but they won’t TRY to get one!

Cooking The Fish:

People cook the fish in two main ways; frying and boiling. They fry it on fires. They boil it in soup. Both ways are incredibly tasty. Many kinds of fish are good for the soup, but Tambaqui is the best for frying!

Selling The Fish:

Most of the time they take it to the big markets in the largest city of the Amazons, Manaus. There, they gather in huge crowds. They gut, de-scale and chop of the fish there, right in front of the people. They sell them at very low prices, each trying to get all the customers to their shop by lowering the price more and more! Some good hunks of Tambaqui can be as low as 15 Realis, (3 USD) a kilo!

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“Fish is a big part of their diet. Fish and Fruit.”

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Thanks for reading!