Sea level at the mouth of the river with the largest flow on Earth has risen 12.4 cm in three decades, eroding riverside territories and reshaping the local economy, according to an unpublished analysis. Intense rains and droughts in the Amazon are altering the interaction between the river’s mouth and the Atlantic Ocean, driving higher tides and coastal salinization. The effects of these changes are already visible in the availability of the species most commonly caught along the Amazon coast. They are also closely tied to deforestation on the continent: by 2050, a 45% reduction in forest cover could weaken the force with which the Amazon’s plume reaches the Atlantic.
Tag: Fish
New study suggests that mercury contamination is widespread among residents of the Amazon
Although living 186 miles away from the area along the Tapajós River where illegal mining is concentrated, Santarém’s inhabitants are at high risk of mercury poisoning.
Amazonian catfish’s 5,000-mile migration endangered by dams
More than 400 dams are planned on being built, are being built or have been built in the Amazon Basin. These dams disrupt the impressive migration of Amazonian catfish, a commercially valuable fish and apex predator in the environment.
Keeping Amazon fish connected is key to their conservation
Unless a system-wide approach to conservation is applied to Amazon basin lakes, floodplains and rivers, we could soon see a collapse of the region’s fish populations.
The giant Amazonian catfish threatened by energy demand
A new study suggests that the catfish‘s sensitive life cycle—complete with long journeys timed to coincide with seasonal river flows—may be interrupted by dams in their last remaining refuge.
Fishing communities to be displaced by dams want a say in their future
Tapajos river fishers may join the group of Brazilians who need public assistance to feed themselves. The federal government has started a series of infrastructure projects that will take the fish away from the fishermen.
Mercury fish: gold mining puts downstream communities at risk in Peru
Pregnant mothers, children, and even adults could face health problems from gold mining pollution in Amazonian Peru