Does anyone know much about the South American Lung Fish (Paichi) ? It's a really cool, prehistoric looking fish. I came across a family living along a swampy inlet of the Amazon who had just caught and sold a lung fish. Our guide, George, told us that the family would make the equivalent of four months of living expenses off the sale of the fish. The family was beaming with excitement.
There were a lot of census studies going on while I was there assessing the lung fish population (I think) and establishing conservation programs with the local village people. Due to the shortage of rangers monitoring this particular area of the Amazon, the villagers would help the rangers during part of the year in exchange for fishing rights in the river.