Tribe Life Notes: Poison Fishing
Tribe Life Notes: Poison Fishing in the Amazon
(Jemma Woodman from Cool Earth is visiting the community of Cutivireni in the Rio Ene Valley of the Peruvian Amazon, who are partnering with Cool Earth to protect trees and block logging. Her Tribe Life Notes, show fascinating aspects of life under the canopy ).
The Ashaninka have been collecting the root of the Barbasco plant for a mass fishing expedition which will see one of the main rivers flooded with poison. There's a buzz in the air and everyone I come across, no matter how young or old, is carrying either a bow and arrow or a hand-knotted fishing net. 23 mesh bags of the pulverised poisonous root are about to be rinsed through the river at 3 different points. Everyone is hurrying to get a prime spot, bankside.
Support the Ashaninka and Save a Tree
River poisoning is a traditional method which asphyxiates the fish so they can be easily caught. The amount of posion is very precise, too much and they risk killing off all the wildlife in the river, just right and biodiversity quickly recovers.
Dilwyn Jenkins from the NGO, Ecotribal who work with Cool Earth, tells me that he has never seen the Ashaninka fish on such a big scale before, with hundreds of peope involved from villages up to several days walk away. Dilwyn has been working in this area for the last 30 years, so I know today is a rare sight.
Arrows are drawn and the Ashaninka are poised for the first fish to start appearing near the surface. I feel something tickle against my feet and notice a small boy of about four turn his aim to the creature now flapping against my skin. I just can't move fast enough but the arrow head misses my toes and plants into the fishes tail. I look at the metal barbs made out of nails and feel grateful he was such a good aim.
Each family bags up at least 40 fish. Some get right in the river and just stand with a net, watching it fill up.
The children suck the raw fish like lollipops but much of the catch is cooked and eaten there and then on the river banks. It's hard to preserve food in the rainforest because of the heat and a lack of salt but I notice back in the villages that some of the fish is being smoked over wooden fires, some is left in the sun to cure and some is wrapped in banana leaves and roasted.
This way of life is only possible with the rainforest kept alive so please support tribal traditions now and protect forest
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