Jaú

Length Category:  Large (> 100 cm)

Trophic Level:  Predator-fish

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

Spawning Period:  Low + Rising

Export Market:  National (outside Amazon)

Market Status:  Second class

Catch Distribution:

Jaú potential yield was estimated to be 1.300 tons. The border region Brazil-Peru-Colombia represents 53% of the total fishing, followed by the Peruvian Amazon (23%), the Central Amazon (13%) and the Lower Amazon (7%).

Natural History Notes:

Jaú is a predatory catfish that lives in the channels of the rivers, although the youngest can live in waters of flooded soils. It is well known among fishermen that this species migrates towards the cataracts, where it waits to feed on migratory characins and other prey. Jaú has traditionally been considered a taboo species in the Amazonian gastronomy, being recently accepted, when the refrigeration plants began to buy it.