In the remote Amazon, locals are saving a giant fish—and helping their villages.

This article focuses on a community-based conservation and sustainable management program for the arapaima (pirarucú), the world’s largest scaled freshwater fish, along Brazil’s Juruá River in the western Amazon. Since 2008, villages like São Raimundo within federally designated extractive reserves have collaborated with scientists from institutions such as the Mamirauá Institute and the Juruá Institute to protect arapaima populations from overfishing and poaching by guarding oxbow lakes where the fish congregate during the dry season. This approach has led to significant ecological recovery of arapaima and other wildlife, while generating economic benefits that support local livelihoods, infrastructure, and education. Despite challenges including illegal activities and fluctuating fish prices, the program has expanded to over 400 villages and is recognized as a model for integrating environmental protection with sustainable development in impoverished, biodiverse regions. [Extracted from the article]