FishNet Explore 97 - Report from Heiko Bleher, July 29, 1997

[William Vannerson <William_Vannerson@ama-assn.org>]

Report from  Heiko Bleher, July 29, 1997

Today we did a lot of research with the priests at  the
monastary in Tefe to check out the area where we will be
penetrating tomorrow and the day after. We have found in the
old archives some handwritten notes of missionaries who
penetrated  the jungles. None of them were naturalists or
researchers.     So we were able in the last minute just before
the flight took off to photocopy part of the notes, which in the
Tefe is quite difficult.  They charged about $US for each copy
and we had 200 pages.

Then we had to reduce our gear to a minimum.  The flight
from Tefe to Eurinepe is quite small and had only about 16
feet for cargo.  We left  at about 1500 (2:00 p.m.) and we had
the pleasure of sitting next to the general of the military who
has been ordered to take care of this region down here.  

Now we have arranged this evening for two boats to take us
up the river into the areas where I want to go.  We are going
where there has never been any research  for fishes and
probably for no other wildlife.  I hope to find something
interesting.  One boat is a lancha which has an engine in the
middle and room for several people.  This is the typical boat
used to transport goods with passengers traveling in
hammocks.  The small boat is just an ordinary dugout which
is carried on the lancha.  The dugout is there to penetrate the
smaller areas where I want to go.

I collected some fishes in the Tefe area such as an
Apistogramma -- very colorful and probably unknown.  Most of
the other fishes are already known: different kinds of beautiful
tetras, mostly Hyphyssobrycon, as well as pencilfishes and
Nannostomus (2 species).  Also a very beautiful Copella;
some Bryconops; some very interesting Geophagus and also
some of knifefishes.  We also found some very interesting
black and white loricariids which may be second new species
from that collecting.
  I don't know yet what species I'll be bringing back, but the
purpose is to breed them and make them available to the
people of the world.  If I collect fish and am able to bring 
them out alive, and breed it, then the species will be around
for generations to come.

Most species that I see in the world, especially tropical,
freshwater habitats, have less and less space to survive.  One
thing I read in the monastery was from a priest who was here
in the Amazon area and he said "for man the most important
thing is to generate the  "economy" and he wrote that over
200 years ago. Nothing has changed.  I was showing John
some creeks in Tefe I visited last September and now it does
not look like the same habitat.  It is unbelieveable how fast it
goes.

When we arrived here, we looked here and there are
thousands of huge trees ready on the bank ready to be
shipped off.  They don't stop anywhere, even in this remote
area. The deforestation is quite evident.The smallest tree I
have seen is three feet across.   You can imagine these trees
being cut down are over 100 years old.

In some areas in the immediate vicinity, there is already
cattle farming and ranching taking place.  The places where
I'm going is where Indians are living in the original habitat. 
The rainforest should beuntouched.  I hope to be able to
penetrate into those untouched areas.  Wilderness galore and
the more untouched it is, the more chances there are to find
something new.  I love collecting in areas where man has not|
destroyed the habitat.  It should be thick jungle, black water
creeks and small riverlet and very difficult to get into.
      Each person who keeps an aquarium or fish is someone
who contributes to wildlife conservation because we have so
many species that only exist in the aquarium hobby and
breeding establishments that are no longer found in the world.