Author: Smith, N.J.H.
Title: Man, Fishes, and the Amazon
Description: Columbia University Press 1981 x, 180, text figs. . HB. 8vo, orig. cloth. Vg in d/w. From the library of Prof. J. Green (1928-2016) with his name to endpaper.. The largest of the tropical rivers, the Amazon, is also home to more species of fish - among them the priarucú (Arapaima gigas), tambaquí (Colossoma macropomum), and piranhas (Serrasalmus spp.) - than any other river in the world. An immensely important renewable resource, the fish of the Amazon an its tributaries provide a large segment of the regional population with both a livelihood and a crucial source of dietary protein. This book is an intriguing and original history of the fishermen and fish of the Amazon basin. Setting up a field base in Itacoatiara, a Brazilian town on the north bank of the Amazon, the author spent over 500 hours listening to and observing the river's fisherman: their lives, their society, their folklore, their fishing methods, their fishing grounds, and their catch. This study shows how local practices based on folklore and myth have helped to preserve the balance between fish and fishermen, and explores how that balance is being disrupted by cultural and ecological changes in the region.. [9780231051569]

Keywords: Amazon; Brazil; South America; America; Fish; Ichthyology


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