The main reason for this thriving environment is that the people of Rewa have taken ownershipof this fishery and its surroundings . They have dedicated their lives to the protection and preservation of the ecosystem . The Rewa Eco-lodge is the driving force behind a large-scale conservation effort .
Through eco-tourism the lodge has managed to replace commercial fishing and hunting with sport fishing and game viewing . Through their protective efforts the arapaima population has grown exponentially , and many other species have made a strong comeback too . The arapaima , a fish that was once hunted nearly to the brink of extinction is now the main attraction at one of South America ’ s premiere fishing lodges . All the arapaima that we catch are tagged , measured and the carefully released to fight another day . As result of this research project , we know more about arapaima than we ever did before . Knowledge is power and now we have the power to protect this fishery for many years to come . Let ’ s forget about all the other fish species that play such a big role in the success of the lodge . Peacock bass and arowana are two species of fish that deserve plenty of credit . They are feisty , good-looking fish that are always around to keep anglers entertained . Although they are abundant these fish also need to be protected for future generations .
That is why the Rewa Eco-lodge in partnership with Indifly have decided to create yet another conservancy . The plan is to stop to excessive killing of these fish in certain areas of the Rewa system and to start a tagging program so that we can track the survival and growth of these special fish . With the help of the Rewa community we hope to have this project up and running in the near future .
If you ’ d like to know more about this project or get involved , please reach out to us : jdupreez @ indifly . org or follow us on Instagram @ rewa _ eco _ lodge
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