Once endangered, Amazon's Pirarucu fish now available on dinner plates

Once under the verge of extinction, Amazon's giant pirarucu fish has now found its way to the dinner plates in Rio de Janeiro's fancy restaurants. A native to the Amazon river basin, pirarucu can measure up to three meters long and weigh more than 200 kgs. Known as one of the world's largest freshwater fish, its white flesh is tender and tasty. 
The head chef at the city's hip Brasserie Rosario, Frederic Monnier, said that without these species there would be nothing left. Jessica Trindade, the Brazilian chef at Chez Claude, an institution in the city's restaurant scene said that the step taken to save Amazon and its species is priceless. Chef Marcelo Barcellos uses pirarucu in his moqueca, a fish stew swimming in palm oil and seasoned with coriander that is a signature Brazilian dish originating in the northeastern state of Bahia.

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Titilating taste buds

The special dish is served with a toasted manioc flour mixture and nuts that come straight from the Amazon basin. The contrasting colours of white fish with yellow flour and green spices, and its tasty tender flesh — titilates both taste buds and eyes of foodies.
The taste is very similar to other saltwater whitefish like pollock or cod. Barcellos, the executive chef and owner of the restaurant Barsa, is one of the many chefs of Rio who is very elated to add pirarucu fish to his menu. Pirarucu has almost vanished from the menus for a long time. It was brought back from the brink of extinction through a sustainable fishing program. Pirarucu can only be fished from July to November — which is the non-mating season.

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Top chefs raise pirarucu's profile

Rio's top chefs have certainly helped to raise pirarucu's profile. The Taste of the Amazon project has helped it happen. Nine chefs have traveled to Northern Brazil to observe how the Paumari tribe has established sustainable practices for harvesting pirarucu. The sustainable fishing project for the pirarucu was started some 20 years ago. Since then, its population has increased from more than 2,500 in 1999 to over 190,000 last year. The restaurants have to pay a whopping 48 reais a kilo, due to the transportation costs. The dish is then sold for about 70 reais ($17). Coordinator of Operation Native Amazon (OPAN) Leonardo Kurihara, who is looking after the Taste of the Amazon initiative, said that the chefs are very important because they present the product to the consumer. Felipe Rossoni, who is also working with OPAN said that the initiative has cleared the way for new markets for the pirarucu. He added that sustainable fishing preserves the environment and reinforces the autonomy.

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