Orinoco River Description: PUERTO CARRE & Ntilde;O, COLOMBIA (IMAGE)
Caption
Local fishermen pick through vegetation caught in large green nets in effort to find small ornamental fish in a marsh area of the Orinoco River. Residents of the Orinoco Basin fish for sustenance as well as profit. Bright, colorful fish from tributaries and marshland along the river are captured alive and stored in water-filled plastic grocery bags until fisherman reach shore. Sold on to bulk buyers, these 'ornamental' fish can be shipped by air as far away as the United States or Japan, trading their wild habitat for a starring role in a distant fish tank. WWF scientists traveled to Colombia this July to study the health of the river and work with local members of the community to develop conservation measures.
Credit
Meridith Kohut/WWF-US
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