2022年11月13日 VOA慢速英语：亚马逊地区的受控捕捞有助于拯救巨大的濒危鱼类

 

A controlled fishing system in Brazil's Amazon River area is helping to save an endangered fish.
巴西亚马逊河地区的一个受控捕鱼系统正在帮助拯救一种濒临灭绝的鱼类。

The fish is the pirarucú. It is also known in Brazil as arapaima. The pirarucú is believed to be the largest of 2,300 different kinds of fish known to live in the Amazon Basin. It can grow to be three meters long and weigh up to 200 kilograms.
这种鱼就是巨骨舌鱼。它在巴西也被称为巨骨舌鱼。巨骨舌鱼被认为是已知生活在亚马逊盆地的 2,300 种不同鱼类中最大的一种。它可以长到三米长，重达 200 公斤。

The fish mostly live in lakes across large areas of the Brazilian Amazon. They are carnivores, meaning they feed on other fish.
这种鱼主要生活在巴西亚马逊大片地区的湖泊中。它们是食肉动物，这意味着它们以其他鱼类为食。

The pirarucú is considered endangered because of overfishing. Illegal fishing activities left many communities struggling to find the fish, which traditionally is an important food.
由于过度捕捞，巨骨舌鱼被认为濒临灭绝。非法捕鱼活动使许多社区都在努力寻找鱼，而鱼在传统上是一种重要的食物。
 
In recent years, however, illegal fishing of the pirarucú has been sharply reduced. And the fish has increasingly been recovering. The Associated Press (AP) reports the improvements came after efforts that included close cooperation between communities and complex logistics.
然而，近年来，空腹鱼的非法捕捞急剧减少。鱼越来越多地恢复。美联社 (AP) 报道说，这些改进是在社区之间的密切合作和复杂的物流等努力之后实现的。

One of the unusual things about pirarucú is that they need to breathe air to survive. The fish need to take at least one breath every 20 minutes. They rise to the surface to do so.
关于 pirarucú 的一个不寻常的事情是它们需要呼吸空气才能生存。鱼需要每 20 分钟至少呼吸一次。它们会浮出水面这样做。

This behavior by the fish makes it easier to count how many pirarucú are active in an area. A count of the fish is now carried out once a year by fishermen trained to use the method. By law, only 30 percent of pirarucú in a certain area can be fished the following year.
鱼的这种行为可以更容易地计算一个区域内有多少个食人鱼活跃。现在，受过使用该方法培训的渔民每年都会对鱼进行一次计数。根据法律规定，在某个地区，次年只能捕捞 30% 的 pirarucú。

Pirarucú fishing is now done once a year, around September, the period when water levels are lowest.
现在每年进行一次 pirarucú 捕捞，大约在 9 月左右，即 perio
 
Efforts have led to increases in the pirarucú population in areas where it is used. In the Sao Raimundo area, there were 1,335 pirarucús in nearby lakes in 2011, when controlled fishing began. Last year, records showed there were 4,092.
努力导致使用地区的巨骨舌鱼数量增加。在 Sao Raimundo 地区，2011 年附近的湖泊中有 1,335 条巨骨舌鱼，当时开始进行受控捕捞。去年，记录显示有 4,092 只。

In the Carauari area, the number of pirarucú rose from 4,916 to 46,839 between 2011 and 2021.
2011 年至 2021 年间，在 Carauari 地区，巨骨舌鱼的数量从 4,916 只增加到 46,839 只。

Manoel Cunha leads a group of workers involved in the rubber trade in Sao Raimundo. He told the AP the controlled fishing efforts have greatly reduced illegal catch operations in the area. "You have been on this river for days now, and you have not seen any fishing boats except the ones from our organizations," Cunha said. "There is no more room for them here."
Manoel Cunha 带领一群在圣雷蒙多从事橡胶贸易的工人。他告诉美联社，受控的捕鱼活动大大减少了该地区的非法捕捞活动。 “你已经在这条河上呆了好几天了，除了我们组织的渔船，你没有看到任何渔船，”库尼亚说。 “这里容不下他们了。”

A sister of Cunha, Rosilda, said the pirarucú bring money into the community. "Our pirarucú is so tasty, everybody that eats it falls in love with it and wants more," she said.
Cunha 的姐姐 Rosilda 说，皮拉鲁库人给社区带来了收入。 “我们的 pirarucú 太好吃了
 
In the Amazon, the fish is generally salted, sun dried and sold in local markets. It is also exported to the United States and Mexico.
在亚马逊地区，鱼通常被腌制、晒干并在当地市场出售。它还出口到美国和墨西哥。

Processing of the fish is completed by members of the Association of Rural Producers of Carauari, known as Asproc. It is an organization created by local rubber workers who wanted to free themselves from slave-like working conditions.
鱼的加工由 Carauari 农村生产者协会（称为 Asproc）的成员完成。这是一个由当地橡胶工人创建的组织，他们希望摆脱奴隶般的工作条件。

The organization permits community members to share in the profits of harvesting the fish.
该组织允许社区成员分享捕捞鱼类的利润。
 
Asproc currently runs other programs on everything from waste control to community markets to higher education. The organization sells pirarucú to Brazil's main cities including Sao Paulo and Brasília. This is a complex process that involves several days of transportation by boat and road, taking up to two weeks.
Asproc 目前还开展其他项目，涉及从废物控制到社区市场再到高等教育的方方面面。该组织向包括圣保罗和巴西利亚在内的巴西主要城市销售巨骨舌鱼。这是一个复杂的过程，涉及数天的水路运输，最多需要两周时间。
 
Asproc has formed partnerships with two American government agencies, the U.S. Forest Service and the Agency for International Development (USAID). Both have supported the area's controlled fishing and processing operations.
Asproc 与两个美国政府机构——美国林务局和国际开发署 (USAID) 建立了合作伙伴关系。两者都支持该地区的受控捕鱼和加工作业。
 
"This project is unique as it requires a strong governance structure," said Ted Gehr, USAID's mission director in Brazil. "Everybody is in agreement that they may have to sacrifice and not be able to fish all of the pirarucú that are available… but knowing that they'll reproduce more, and that in the long run they will be more valuable," Gehr added.
“这个项目是独一无二的，因为它需要一个强有力的治理结构，”美国国际开发署巴西任务主任泰德格尔说。 “每个人都同意，他们可能不得不牺牲，无法捕捞所有可用的巨骨舌鱼……但知道它们会繁殖更多，而且从长远来看，它们会更有价值，”盖尔补充道。