truly understands the value of what this species means for his community and how these rescue operations not only preserve the long term economic benefits of fishing tourism but also how they can be used to train younger folks to become more aware of their natural resources .
“ We must first assess the pond .” Nigel says . “ We look at how long it is . The depth . And the distance towards the river .”
This assessment is crucial because the fish need to be corralled like cattle into a corner of the pond . Team members then use their hands to feel for them . Once the fish are felt below the shallow surface they are held and carefully wrestled with until they get tired . This is a particularly dangerous feat because if an arapaima decides to thrash in resistance , the impact is enough to render a person unconscious . Once it gets tired the team will guide it into a fabricated sling which they will use to carry the fish through the forest to the river .
Before any of this is done , a measurement from the pond to river has to be made . If the journey is too long or the terrain is difficult to traverse with 300lbs of arapaima load then they will not try to move the fish . Putting the fish under prolonged stress to carry it to the river risks killing more Arapaima and is counterintuitive .
However , the journey from this particular pond to the river is relatively straightforward so the team begins clearing a trail using machetes . Within twenty minutes we have a cleared path for transport to take place .
We take a minute to acknowledge that this is a once in a lifetime experience to be able to witness the saving of Arapaima deep in the amazon . These are the kind of stories you only read about or see on a National Geographic or Discovery episode , so being the ones documenting it is truly a privilege . close in . Nigel turns to me and says that one is heading in my direction . I remain frozen with my camera in hand but as I am about to respond I feel a gigantic creature slither between my legs . I yell but do not make a sudden movement because if it thrashes I may not make it through the rest of this trip .
At that moment just behind me one Arapaima explodes out the water and the chase begins . Titus , one of the more formidable men on the team , jumps onto the Arapaima ’ s back and is dragged a few feet under . He resurfaces and smiles as he continues to hang on . They wrestle back and forth . The goal is not to dominate the fish but instead put pressure on its ability to swim away and keep it within the circle . After four to five minutes of a fight the fish is handed off to the next team member who will continue the wrestle . There is continuous thrashing and Kenny takes a blow which stuns him but he recovers well .
The first fish is a monstrous size . Eight feet of muscle and well over 300lbs . The team commits to this fish and they all guide it slowly up the pond where the sling is spread out waiting to be loaded . At this point the fish is tired so it can be easily guided on to the sling . Two pieces of wood
It is time to begin and the whole team lead by Kenny , Campbell and Nigel enter the pond in military formation . What was once loud conversation and back and forth chiming has now turned into a laser focused silence . Whispers shoot across the pond as they begin to see bubbles surface just above their knees . The water is also shallow enough to catch a glimpse of the fiery red tail that skims over the top of the pond . Corralling takes more patience and bravery than you would think . Imagine wading through an opaque body of water in the middle of the forest riddled with lurking creatures beneath . We noticed a few caiman and there was mention of electric eels but we tried to put that thought out of our mind because not fully embracing the job results in poor documentation on our part .
The task intensifies as multiple Arapaima are felt below the surface and the human circle around them begins to
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