Fishing in the Northern Amazon of Bolivia, history, problems and perspective
Selin Trujillo Bravo*
*Single Federation of Fishermen, Marketers and Fish Farmers of the Northern Amazon of Bolivia, FEUPECOPINAB.
Commercial fishing in the Northern Amazon dates back to the 60s, our parents and many people who suddenly rest in peace gave their lives working and waiting for better days for the fishermen, they commented that there was plenty of fish, they went out at one or two hours and In just one day they caught more than 300 and 400 kg, you could see the schools of fish that arrived like the yatoranas, the skinned dorado, chananas, in the mouths of the rivers you could see the fins, the tails. At that time there was no market and it was difficult to sell the fish. In the 90s, there was a shortage of fish, not much is known about why it disappeared, we believe it is due to the appearance of the “garimpo” rafts used to extract gold.
The northern Amazon is in the middle of what is Peru and Brazil, it is part of the Bolivian Amazon, it is located and is fed with fish from the Amazon River that feeds the Madera River, east to the Mamore, Beni, Madre de Dios, Orthon and other tributaries such as the Yata, Biata, Geneguaya, Ivon rivers.
The FEUPECOPINAB was born from the concern of that emptiness that we feel as fishermen, of the abuses that we have been suffering from some authorities, that is why in 2010 we decided to organize ourselves, to strengthen ourselves as fishermen, to feel unity because really all fishermen are a family. We have the same suffering, day to day, all year round, fishing is a very sacrificial activity but it is also very beautiful, because “fishing is our life” being in the river, in contact with nature, seeing so many landscapes . There are 15 organizations affiliated with the federation among peasants, indigenous people, urban areas and also merchants, in total we are more than 3000 families of fishermen from the northern Amazon,
In the 90s we saw the introduction of a new species, we called it “Paichi”, we saw it when it came out to breathe, many people when they looked at it were afraid, they didn't know what it was, in 92, 93 we started fishing for it, now On 95 and 96, especially in the Madre de Dios River, we could not fish for other species, only paichi fell into the nets and spears, we were worried, because the people were not in the habit of eating this fish, there was no market, the fellow marketers They had the initiative to take the paiche to the interior of the country; La Paz, Santa Cruz and Cochabamba, was acquiring commercial value, and the fishermen did not vote for it, they sold it although at a low price, today it is one of the most appreciated fish in Bolivia, we, especially urban fishermen, changed our activity from fishing of native species to fishing for paichi, at least 80% of what we fish is paichi, we are trying as an organization to give more added value to the fish, trying to make the most of the paichi, using its scales, the leather, we are currently supported by a project “Fish for Life”, with whom, grateful because they are training us in transforming fish meat, to give greater food security to consumers, they are supporting us in strengthening ourselves as an organization and as a federation, with the support of the project Fish for Life we have worked on a draft fishing law that has been worked on and agreed upon with organizations from other parts of the country, which we have already presented to our Bolivian government. We believe that it is very necessary because since 1990 we have been left in a vacuum. legal due to the changes that occurred in our country, everyone became the owner of the loopholes….
As fishermen from the Northern Amazon we hope that our families have better living conditions, train our children to be good people, give them the opportunity to continue their studies suddenly beyond Riberalta. Currently we live only from fishing and it is not enough to support our families, fishing is uncertain, random, sometimes it goes well for us and many times badly, even more so with the shortages and the threat that is approaching us such as hydroelectric plants. That is why we work to unify the entire fishing sector to be strong, to work throughout the national territory to provide high quality fish, although we are already coordinating with the Bolivian government we want it to support the fishing sector, we want to venture into sin farming. Many of us are already training in fish farming but we lack support from our authorities. We hope that one day our authorities and the rest of the country will see us as a very important sector and that they will also see us as producers and not only as extractives, it is the perspective that we have, because we know that everything is going to end.
The peasant and indigenous comrades have suddenly begun to dedicate themselves to fishing because they have seen fishing as an alternative to support their families.
Today the colleagues of Cachuela Esperanza are feeling the impacts of the dams. Cachuela Esperanza is dedicated to yatorana fishing, with the construction of Brazilian hydroelectric dams on the Madera River, last year the fishing has been low and this year they have not managed to catch anything, we believe that we in Riberalta will also feel those impacts , because we fish in the tributaries of the Amazon and Madera rivers, we know that it is a development for the countries but we also have to consider avoiding impacts that harm nearby populations, we cannot think of development favoring some and making them increasingly poorer. to others, that is the case of the fishermen who are affected by these works. Until now our authorities through the Bolivian Foreign Ministry have not spoken out, despite some of our complaints. As fishing organizations represented by a federation, we have met and are planning to make an international complaint, perhaps to human rights or other bodies, to denounce the effects of the dams, as our colleagues say, “we are not going to eat electric energy, while Many people live from fishing”, especially the people who live on the banks of rivers and lakes, they feed on fish almost every day, we as an organization see that the most impoverished are being affected, so we worry and continue struggling to do something to avoid the shortage of fish, due to the blocking of rivers.
As fishermen we have other problems, even with our own authorities, for example, they launch bans without any type of studies, we think it is because of the legal vacuum that exists in relation to fishing, because nobody says anything, everyone is the owner of everything and In the end, no one owns anything. When it suits them or when it doesn't suit them. In the end it is because the fishing sector is a sector that has not positioned itself very well before our authorities, that is why we have worked in the law process, we are now waiting for answers. Another big problem is the lack of ice, it does not meet the demand and is not of good quality.
As fishermen we are in high spirits to continue working and fighting for our colleagues in the urban and rural areas, always trying to improve the lives of fishermen, achieve fairer prices, so that our families can eat three times a day. , so that we can make our children study, to support each other among fishermen, to give ease to the partner who does not have one, to the partner who has suddenly suffered some mishaps at work. We also thank the women who also make a living from fishing who are dedicated to fishing and who are supporting the sector, we see that women play an important role in the entire fish production chain, that is why as a federation we are supporting so that women organize, so that they also have better conditions as people, as women, seeing that their rights are respected and their rights are not violated.
As you will see, we have the strength and the desire to improve but we need support, both from the government and non-governmental organizations. We have many problems as I have already mentioned, but the challenge is great. We work to provide food security to all Bolivians since the Fish comes from the rivers of our Amazon and is distributed throughout the national territory.