Guillermo Otta Parum is a fisherman in the Bolivian Amazon who has been fishing for more than 50 years. He used to catch catfish, but then a huge fish called paiche or Arapaima gigas showed up. At first, Guillermo thought the paiche was dangerous and poisonous, but it's actually one of the biggest freshwater fish in the world. It can grow up to 4 meters long and weigh over 200kg. The paiche is spreading further into the rivers of the Amazon basin each year, which is a big problem because it's scaring away other fish and causing them to go to more remote areas.
We don't know exactly when the paiche arrived in Bolivia, but it's believed to have come from a paiche fish farm in Peru. Fernando Carvajal, a biologist who knows a lot about paiche, says the fish grows really fast, about 10kg per year when it's young. Even though it doesn't have scary teeth, the paiche eats piranhas, other fish, plants, molluscs, and even birds. Fishermen have noticed that there are fewer native fish, and Carvajal says the paiche will keep spreading and hurting the different kinds of fish.
But the arrival of the paiche has actually been good for local fishermen. Even though they were scared of the fish at first, they realized it could be a good thing. People in Bolivia now eat a lot of paiche. Edson Suzano has a place where they process the fish and sell it in supermarkets and markets. The problem for fishermen is finding the paiche in the huge Amazon. The fish likes calm water and moves around when it feels threatened, so fishermen have to go to faraway places in boats and canoes for up to two weeks. This has caused problems with indigenous communities who have rights to the lagoons where paiche live.
The indigenous communities say they are protecting the things they have a right to control, and commercial fishermen often have trouble even if they have the right paperwork. Juan Carlos Ortiz ChΓ‘vez, a paiche fisherman from an indigenous community, says the younger generation has made rules to stop outsiders from taking their resources. Scientists like Federico Moreno hope that fishing, no matter who does it, will help keep a balance between different kinds of fish and keep the paiche numbers under control.
Original news source: The fish that eats piranhas for breakfast (BBC)
π§ Listen:
π Vocabulary:
Group or Classroom Activities
Warm-up Activities:
– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups. Give each group a set of vocabulary words related to the article (e.g. paiche, Amazon, fisherman, indigenous, etc.). One member of the group will choose a word and draw it on the board or a piece of paper, while the other group members try to guess the word. The group that guesses the most words correctly wins.
– News Summary
Instructions: Have the students read the article individually or in pairs. Then, ask them to write a brief summary of the main points of the article, focusing on the arrival and impact of the paiche fish in the Bolivian Amazon. Afterward, have a class discussion where students share their summaries and compare their understanding of the article.
– Pros and Cons
Instructions: Divide the class into two groups. Assign one group the task of discussing the pros of the paiche fish's arrival in Bolivia, and the other group the task of discussing the cons. Give each group time to brainstorm and prepare their arguments. Then, have a debate where each group presents their points. Encourage students to use appropriate language for expressing opinions, agreeing, and disagreeing.
– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Create a set of statements related to the article, such as "The arrival of the paiche fish in Bolivia is a positive thing for local fishermen." Have the students stand in a line, with one end representing "strongly agree" and the other end representing "strongly disagree." Read each statement aloud and have students move to the appropriate place on the line to indicate their opinion. After each statement, ask a few students to explain their reasons for their position.
– Future Predictions
Instructions: In small groups, have the students discuss and make predictions about the future impact of the paiche fish in the Bolivian Amazon. For example, they could discuss how the fish might affect the ecosystem, the fishing industry, and the indigenous communities. Each group should present their predictions to the class and explain their reasoning. Encourage them to use future tenses and conditional language to express their ideas.
π€ Comprehension Questions:
Guillermo Otta Parum is a fisherman in the Bolivian Amazon who has been fishing for more than 50 years.
Guillermo initially thought the paiche fish was dangerous and poisonous because he didn't know much about it.
The paiche fish can grow up to 4 meters long and weigh over 200kg.
The spreading of the paiche fish is a problem because it is scaring away other fish and causing them to go to more remote areas.
It is believed that the paiche fish came from a paiche fish farm in Peru. When it's young, the paiche fish can grow about 10kg per year.
The paiche fish eats piranhas, other fish, plants, molluscs, and even birds. This has affected the native fish population because there are now fewer native fish in the rivers.
The arrival of the paiche fish has been beneficial for local fishermen because people in Bolivia now eat a lot of paiche, so there is a demand for it.
Fishermen have difficulties finding the paiche fish because it likes calm water and moves around when it feels threatened. This has caused problems with indigenous communities because they have rights to the lagoons where the paiche fish live and commercial fishermen often have trouble accessing those areas.
π§βοΈ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:
Guillermo Otta Parum is a fisherman in the Bolivian Amazon who has been fishing for more than 50 years. He used to catch catfish, but then a huge fish called paiche or Arapaima gigas up. At first, Guillermo thought the paiche was dangerous and poisonous, but it's actually one of the freshwater fish in the world. It can grow up to 4 meters long and weigh over 200kg. The paiche is further into the rivers of the Amazon basin each year, which is a big problem because it's scaring away fish and causing them to go to more remote areas. We don't know exactly when the paiche arrived in Bolivia, but it's believed to have come from a paiche fish farm in Peru. Fernando , a biologist who knows a lot about paiche, says the fish grows really fast, about 10kg per year when it's young. Even though it doesn't have teeth, the paiche eats piranhas, other fish, plants, molluscs, and even birds. Fishermen have noticed that there are fewer fish, and Carvajal says the paiche will keep spreading and hurting the different kinds of fish. But the of the paiche has actually been good for local . Even though they were scared of the fish at first, they realized it could be a good thing. People in Bolivia now eat a lot of paiche. Edson Suzano has a place where they process the fish and sell it in supermarkets and markets. The problem for fishermen is finding the paiche in the huge . The fish likes calm water and moves around when it feels threatened, so fishermen have to go to faraway places in and canoes for up to two weeks. This has caused problems with communities who have s to the lagoons where paiche live. The indigenous communities say they are protecting the things they have a right to control, and commercial fishermen often have trouble even if they have the right paperwork. Juan Carlos Ortiz ChΓ‘vez, a paiche fisherman from an indigenous community, says the younger has made rules to stop outsiders from taking their resources. like Federico Moreno hope that fishing, no matter who does it, will help keep a between different kinds of fish and keep the paiche numbers under control.
π¬ Discussion Questions:
1. What is the paiche fish and why was Guillermo Otta Parum scared of it at first?
2. How do you think the arrival of the paiche fish has affected the other fish in the Amazon rivers? Why or why not?
3. Do you think it's a good thing that people in Bolivia now eat a lot of paiche? Why or why not?
4. How do you think the arrival of the paiche fish has affected the local fishermen in Bolivia? Why or why not?
5. How do you think the indigenous communities feel about the presence of commercial fishermen in their lagoons? Why?
6. What do you think about the rules the younger generation of indigenous communities have made to protect their resources? Do you think it's fair? Why or why not?
7. How would you feel if you had to go on a two-week boat trip to find the paiche fish? Why?
8. Do you think it's important to keep a balance between different kinds of fish in the Amazon rivers? Why or why not?
9. How do you think the paiche fish has affected the ecosystem of the Amazon basin? Why or why not?
10. What do you think about the idea of fish farming? Do you think it's a good solution to the decrease in native fish populations? Why or why not?
11. How do you think the paiche fish has impacted the livelihoods of the local fishermen in Bolivia? Why or why not?
12. Do you like eating fish? Why or why not?
13. What do you think about the idea of indigenous communities having rights to control the resources in their lagoons? Do you think it's fair? Why or why not?
14. How do you think the paiche fish has affected the traditional fishing practices of the indigenous communities? Why or why not?
15. Do you think it's possible to find a solution that satisfies both the commercial fishermen and the indigenous communities? Why or why not?
Individual Activities
ππ Vocabulary Meanings:
Click a dot next to a word, then click the dot next to its meaning to draw a line connecting them.
Words
Meanings
π‘ Multiple Choice Questions:
π΅οΈ True or False Questions:
π Write a Summary:
Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.
Check your writing now with the best free AI for English writing!
