Solimoes River Section Becomes Desert Again, Devastating Local Fishing Community

Onisson Gonçalves, a Kokama indigenous man photographed by Folha walking on sandbanks in 2023, sold his fishing equipment and sees the same scenario in 2024: 'We are isolated'

Sep.23.2024 1:05PM

Vinicius Sassine
Lalo de Almeida

TEFÉ (AM)
Residents of the Porto Praia de Baixo Indigenous Land, in the Tefé (AM) region, say that Onisson Gonçalves, 32, is a man who "has luck." The Kokama indigenous man, father of three children, is described in the community as one of the best fishers of smooth-skinned fish in the Solimões River — which flows in front of Porto Praia — and in the lakes connected to the river. This is how species without scales, such as surubim, caparari, and dourada, are referred to.



TEFE, AM. 18/09/2024. Ralison dos Anjos walks along the dry bed of a Solimões River arm near the Indigenous Community of Porto Praia, Tefé ( Foto: Lalo de Almeida/ Folhapress )

He used to fish a lot, all day, alone. His technique, the dragnet, and his luck ensured abundance in Onisson's work. This luck only manifested until 2022. During the extreme droughts of 2023 and 2024, the fate of over one hundred families in the territory was radically altered. The stretch of the Solimões in front of Porto Praia turned into a desert once again.

Folha reported on this reality on October 13, 2023, when they visited the community. The newspaper returned to Porto Praia last Wednesday (18) and found the same landscape and the same effects of the drought that paralyzes the territory.

Indigenous people say the 2024 crisis is even more severe, as it started a month earlier and forced small boats to dock even farther from the village’s small port — 3 km away, compared to 2 km last year.

https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/scienceandhealth/2024/09/solimoes-river-section-becomes-desert-again-devastating-local-fishing-community.shtml