Curimatã

Length Category:  Small (<40 cm)

Trophic Level:  Detritivore

Migratory Pattern:  Medium Distance (100-1,000 km)

Spawning Period:  Rising

Export Market:  National (outside Amazon)

Market Status:  Second class

Catch Distribution:

Curimatã potential yield was estimated to be approximately 24,200 tons, the highest potential of any fish group in the Amazon Basin. Two important fishery regions accounted for 79% of potential yield: Peruvian Amazon (48%) and Central Amazon (30%). These were followed by the Estuary (7%), Brazilian-Colombian-Peruvian Border (5%), Lower Amazon (3%), Tocantins (3%) and Madeira (2%) regions.

Natural History Notes:

The curimatã is widespread in the Amazon Basin and perhaps the most prized of the detritus-feeding fishes because of its size and better taste. The species is abundant in whitewater and clearwater rivers but generally missing from blackwater rivers. Large schools are encountered in river channels during spawning migrations at the beginning of the floods and during dispersal migrations during the low water period.