Expedition Upper Jutaí

South America – Rio Jutaí, August 2008

Image After the research in the amazing Rio Jutaí right hand affluent of the Rio Solimões in 2004, but much further up with 5 companions.

The Rio Jutaí is very little explored from the point of fishes and no record exists. Heiko Bleher was the first, next to the local – and only – fisherman Isaac Pereira Correia. His companions on the recent expedition were from Belgium Yves and Gregoire, and from Denmark Tom and Gunnar. The below photos are from them and Natasha Khardina.

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We had to fly to Tabatinga to take a recreio down the river. The large recreio had hundreds of people on 4 floors – sleeping in hammocks for several nights, to reach the Jutaí.

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Here Isaac was waiting with his old (run down) lancha – the only one in the Jutaí … and we had a toilette with the fantastic view…

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The village Jutaí (at the mouth of the river) live almost exclusively from fishing, here tons of large catfishes had arrived (left) and giant piraricú Arapaima gigas (right).

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Our dining table above the engine. Gregoire, Yves and Gunnar relaxing (f. l. t. r.)

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And we ate pacu, but also arowanas (right)

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Some parts of the Jutaí were full of floating Pistia stratoites – amazing ground for millions of fishes to survive and breed…

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On the entire stretch up river there were only two Indian settlements.

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We always had to enter with small boats the remote bays (as discus never stay – or hardly ever – in the main river bed) and did many seining in vain!
But one (lower) was to be the “catch of the day”

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This seining (to cut the logs in the arm and to remove them out of the water took most of the day and them there was one large school of other fishes of green discus – nearly 400 – in the seine and many other fishes, like fantastic pike-cichlid and angelfish species of amazing shape and colour.

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It was difficult to get all those fishes in time out of the seine, as many just jumped out…

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Storaged in the landa and also some other fishes to photograph and record their locality for future generations…

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… and some fishes went into the pot to cook…

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Tom could not believe so many beautiful green discus – Symphysodon aequifasciatus…

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Now swimming in his home aquarium in Denmark.

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