Giant pirarucu fish under threat in Brazilian Amazon - in pictures
A fisherman carries a large pirarucu in Amazonas State, Brazil. AFP
Prized for its skin as much as its flesh, the pirarucu has long been a staple for indigenous people who hunt the air-breathing fish in lakes in the Javari Valley. AFP
But the freshwater pirarucu, which can grow to be larger than a man, is also wanted by poachers. AFP
Fishermen unload a catch of pirarucu in Fonte Boa, Brazil. AFP
Bushe Matis, co-ordinator of Univaja, the main indigenous organisation from the country's north-western region, talks with Thiago Arruda Mairum, an official from the Indigenous Working Center (CTI), a Brazilian NGO that defends indigenous people in Amazonia. AFP
In Brazil's Amazonas province, pirarucu harvesting is strictly regulated. AFP
Brazilian soldiers carry a pirarucu seized on a boat. Reuters
A boat transports pirarucu fish to a processing ship, in the San Raimundo settlement lake, in Carauari, Brazil. AP
In the Javari Valley which holds the country's second-largest protected Indigenous reserve, home to seven tribes including the Kanamari, only residents may hunt the fish. AFP
In 2017, a project was started in the Javari Valley with the help of CTI to ensure communities will be able to continue harvesting pirarucu for a long time to come. AFP
