Dourada catfish

Categoria de comprimento:  Large (>100 cm)

Nível trópico:  Predator-fish

Padrão migratório:  Long Distance (1,000 km +)

Período de desova:  All periods

Mercado de exportação:  International (outside South America)

Status do mercado:  First class

Distribuição de capturas:

Dourada potential yield was estimated to be 10,500 tons. Three important fishery regions account for 81% of potential yield: Estuary (38%), Brazilian-Colombian-Peruvian Border (30%) and Lower Amazon (13%). The potential yield of dourada is moderate in the Central Amazon (9%), Peruvian Amazon (7%) and Madeira (2%) regions.

Notas de História Natural:

The dourada is a large piscivorous catfish confined mostly to river channels and the estuary. It migrates from the estuary to the Andean foothills where it spawns and it is heavily exploited along this entire route. It is probable that overexploitation will soon be a problem if fishing limits are not imposed, though destruction of headwater spawning habitats could also become a problem with colonization of the lower slopes of the Andes.