Editing Arapaima (section)

==Relation to humans==
[[File:Arapaima gigas scales 3860.jpg|thumb|right|Closeup of scales|274x274px]][[File:Arapaima close-up.jpg|thumb|Arapaima or pirarucu close-up|271x271px]]Arapaima is exploited in many ways by local human populations.

Its [[tongue]] is thought to have medicinal qualities in South America. It is dried and combined with [[guarana]] bark, which is grated and mixed into water. Doses are given to kill [[intestinal worms]].{{citation needed|date=March 2019}}
The bony tongue is used to scrape cylinders of dried guarana, an ingredient in some beverages, and the bony scales are used as nail files.

Arapaima produce boneless steaks and are considered a delicacy. In the Amazon region, locals often salt and dry the meat, rolling it into a cigar-style package that is then tied and can be stored without rotting, which is important in a region with little refrigeration. Arapaima are referred to as the "cod of the Amazon", and can be prepared in the same way as traditional salted cod.

Designers have begun using the skin of the arapaima as leather to make jackets, shoes, and handbags, and to cover furniture.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.leather-dictionary.com/index.php/Fish_leather#Pirarucu_leather |title=Fish leather |website=leather-dictionary.com |access-date=19 December 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dezeen.com/2018/11/15/oskar-metsavaht-pirarucu-fish-skin-sustainable-fashion/ |title=Oskar Metsavaht makes sustainable fashion garments from Amazonian fish skin |date=15 November 2018 |access-date=19 December 2018 |last=Hitti |first=Natashah |work=[[Dezeen]]}}</ref>

In July 2009, villagers around [[Kenyir Lake]] in [[Terengganu]], Malaysia, reported sighting ''A. gigas''. The "Kenyir monster", or "dragon fish" as the locals call it, was claimed to be responsible for the mysterious drowning of two men on 17{{nbsp}}June.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2009/7/8/southneast/4215888&sec=southneast|title=Archives|work=thestar.com.my}}</ref>

In August 2018, ''[[India Times]]'' reported that arapaima has been spotted in the [[Chalakudy River]], following floods in [[Kerala]];<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.indiatimes.com/news/india/predatory-fish-like-arapaima-red-bellypiranha-and-alligator-gar-spotted-afterkerala-floods-352136.html |title=Predatory Fish Like Arapaima, Red Belly Piranha And Alligator Gar Spotted After Kerala Floods |website=indiatimes.com |date=30 Aug 2018 |access-date=31 December 2019}}</ref> their presence in India is attributed to illegal importation for [[fish farming]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.currentscience.ac.in/Volumes/116/10/1628.pdf/ |title=Jurassic invaders: flood-associated occurrence of arapaima and alligator gar in the rivers of Kerala |date=15 November 2018 |access-date=31 December 2019 |last=Kumar |first=A. Biju |work=[[Current Science]] |archive-date=3 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190603191152/https://www.currentscience.ac.in/Volumes/116/10/1628.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The arapaima is depicted on both the flag and the seal of the [[Department of Ucayali]], [[Peru]].

===Fishing===
[[File:F de Castelnau-poissonsPl25.jpg|thumb|right|Skull from side and above]]

Wild arapaima are [[harpoon]]ed or caught in large nets. Since the arapaima needs to surface to breathe air, traditional arapaima fishermen harpoon them and then club them to death. An individual fish can yield as much as {{convert|70|kg|abbr=on}} of meat.

The arapaima was introduced for fishing in [[Thailand]] and [[Malaysia]]. Fishing in Thailand can be done in several lakes, where specimens over {{convert|150|kg|abbr=on}} are often landed and then released.

On 14 May 2020, a 30&nbsp;kg specimen was found floating in the river in Angkor Wat area, Krovanh village, Sangkat Norkor Thom, Siem Reap, [[Cambodia]]; the locals said it was a rare fish, and not commonly seen in this area.

With catch-and-release after the fish is landed, it must be held for 5 minutes until it takes a breath. The fish has a large blood vessel running down its spine, so lifting the fish clear of the water for trophy shots can rupture this vessel, causing death.

=== Aquaculture ===
In 2013, [[Whole Foods Market|Whole Foods]] began selling [[Aquaculture|farm-raised]] arapaima in the United States as a cheaper alternative to [[halibut]] or [[Patagonian toothfish|Chilean sea bass]].<ref>{{Cite web|title = Saving an Endangered Fish by Eating More of It - BusinessWeek Education Resource Center|url = http://resourcecenter.businessweek.com/reviews/saving-an-endangered-fish-by-eating-more-of-it1|website = resourcecenter.businessweek.com|access-date = 2015-08-20|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170106010445/https://resourcecenter.businessweek.com/reviews/saving-an-endangered-fish-by-eating-more-of-it1|archive-date = 2017-01-06|url-status = dead}}</ref>

In Thailand, the only legal breeding farm is located in Tambon Phrong Maduea, [[Amphoe Mueang Nakhon Pathom]], [[Nakhon Pathom Province]]. This has been approved by both the Department of Fisheries and [[CITES]] since early 2018, and has been exporting them worldwide as an aquarium fish.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.technologychaoban.com/pet/article_54255|title=ศิริวรรณ อะราไพม่า ฟาร์มนครปฐม เพาะเลี้ยงปลาช่อนอะเมซอนส่งขายทั่วโลก ได้เพียงที่เดียวในประเทศ|language=th|date=2018-04-07|first=ธาวิดา|last= ศิริสัมพันธ์|work=Technology Chaoban Magazine}}</ref>

=== Conservation ===
Arapaima are particularly vulnerable to overfishing because of their size and because they must surface periodically to breathe. Some 7000 tons per year were taken from 1918 to 1924, the height of commercial arapaima fishing; demand led to farming of the fish by native ''[[ribeirinhos]]''.<ref>''[[River Monsters]]'' episode name: "Unhooked", Animal Planet, 16 July 2010 10AM PDT.</ref> As efforts at restricting catches were largely unsuccessful, arapaima fishing was banned outright in Brazil in 1996, due to declining populations. Indeed, a 2014 study found that the fish were depleted or [[overexploited]] at 93% of the sites examined and well-managed or unfished in only 7%; the fish appeared to be [[Local extinction|extirpated]] in 19% of these sites.<ref name = "Castello2014">{{Cite journal | last1 = Castello | first1 = L. | last2 = Arantes | first2 = C. C. | last3 = Mcgrath | first3 = D. G. | last4 = Stewart | first4 = D. J. | last5 = De Sousa | first5 = F. S. | title = Understanding fishing-induced extinctions in the Amazon | journal = Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems | date = 2014-08-13 | volume = 25 | issue = 5 | pages = 587–598 | doi = 10.1002/aqc.2491}}</ref><ref name = "Gough2014">{{cite web
 | last = Gough | first = Z.
 | title = Giant Amazon fish 'locally extinct' due to overfishing
 | work = BC Nature | publisher = [[BBC]] | date = 2014-08-13
 | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/28705053 | access-date = 2014-08-15 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140814081501/http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/28705053 | archive-date = 2014-08-14}}</ref> The status of the arapaima population in the Amazon River Basin is unknown, hence it is listed on the [[IUCN red list]] as [[data deficient]]. Conducting a population census in so large an area is difficult, as is monitoring catches in a trade that was once largely [[illegal fishing|unregulated]]. Since 1999, both subsistence and commercial fishing have been permitted in specially designated areas under a sophisticated sustainable management strategy. This approach has led to massive recovery of once-depleted stocks; in a sampling of 10 areas conducted using traditional counting methods, the population was found to have grown from 2,500 in 1999 to over 170,000 in 2017.<ref name=Mamirauá>{{cite book |author=Gonçalves ACT, Cunha J, Batista JS |year=2018 |title=The Amazonian Giant: Sustainable Management of Arapaima (Pirarucu) |place=Tefé, Amazonas |publisher=Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development |isbn=978-85-88758-77-3 |url=https://www.mamiraua.org.br/documentos/4163f5aaff5d05e1a9e1804bb5e06307.pdf |access-date=2020-05-05}}</ref>

[[Colombia]] only bans fishing and consumption of the arapaima between October 1 and March 15, during breeding season.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ica.gov.co/getdoc/a7e40c46-1243-45a9-80d4-c52097320b2b/vedas.aspx|title=Vedas|website=ica.gov.co|access-date=22 April 2018|archive-date=5 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305032654/http://www.ica.gov.co/getdoc/a7e40c46-1243-45a9-80d4-c52097320b2b/vedas.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref> <!-- clarify There is a scope for captive breeding and reintroduction to the wild in effort to increase the population. -->