The objectives of the Project Piaba are:
To collect baseline data on the ecosystem, socio-economy and diversity of fishes, to analyze the impact of the ornamental fish trade on social and natural environments.
To diagnose diseases and reduce mortality of captive fish, and to introduce fish care techniques to improve the survival and quality of fishes and turtles, and eventually to establish protocols for export quarantine.
To provide environmental education and socio-cultural history to local children, fishers, distributors and public, and to promote career development in aquarium science and conservation.
To create community based fishery management strategies which would include managed harvest levels, stock enhancement of fishes and turtles and the development of aquaculture of native species.
To assist in the revision of policies by regulatory agencies in order to protect vulnerable species and enhance the economic viability of the region.
To encourage local entrepreneurship, eco-tourism, the production of local crafts and the commercialization of other sustainable natural resources.
All of these objectives are currently on going at different levels of development. Many students at the Universidade do Amazonas have participated in the project; some are developing their career in these disciplines. The results of the Project have been dissimulated through students' thesis, popular and scientific publications, and at technical conferences and public lectures. Consequently, we have received many inquiries from all over the world. A few volunteers have came to Amazon for the Project Piaba, and some have became students of the Universidade do Amazonas.
Our immediate goal is to purchase and improve the facilities of the
"Center of Ornamental Fish Study" in Barcelos, then we can have more stability to conduct research and education programs, and to bring more scientists and research projects to the region.
