Ethnoecology, Resource Use, Conservation And Development In A ...

employed at times of lower water, and may apply an intimate knowledge of the
microhabitat use and food preferences of the particular species targeted. Some fish
are hunted with bows and arrows, on a smaller scale to those used in hunting, either
from a canoe or by diving, if a face mask is available.
Some specialised techniques are applied to particular species of surface-feeding
predatory fish. Spring rods are set in suitable habitat for haimara (Hoplias
macrophthalmus), or less commonly for pirai (Pygocentrus nattereri or Serrasalmus
rhombeus), and hooks attached to floating lengths of palm petiole may be set out for
houri (Hoplias malabaricus). Haimara and other large predatory fish may also be
caught with lines strung across waterways at night, from which hooks are set near
the water's surface at regular intervals.
Poisoning of fish is a commonly used method, which may be employed in major
rivers of both forest and savannah when the water is low or descending. Poisoning
also takes place in stagnant ponds left on the savannah following the receding of
flood waters and the breaking up of creeks during the dry season. It is this latter
activity that is the source of local concern about environmental damage, as in this
situation the poison does not disperse, but destroys most of the fish and other
animal life in the pools, including fish too small to be worth catching which would
otherwise recruit into the harvestable population in subsequent years. Poisoned pools
are also dangerous to livestock grazing on the savannah, and cattle and other
domestic animals have on occasion died as a result of drinking from them. A variety
of poisons, which in Wapishana are collectively referred to as oko, may be extracted
from both wild and cultivated plants according to the use required. At least four
species of forest vine are used for this purpose, of which the most powerful is
reputed to be haiari, or aishara (Lonchocarpus sp.). In addition, fish poisons can be
derived from at least three different kinds of forest tree and four kinds of cultivated
plants, including the cultivated shrub konani (Clibadium sp.). In the majority of cases
the poison is extracted from the root of the plant, although in some species the
active ingredient is found in the leaf.
4.5 Gathering
4.5.1 Gathering of wild animal foods
The gathering of wild animal foods is less important than animal husbandry, fishing or
hunting, but nonetheless significant, being practiced by just over 60 percent of
households interviewed. A small range of food items was mentioned by respondents,