Golden Dorado Conservation Research Project, Salta Argentina

In April of 2015 I landed in northern Argentina alongside a team of fish biologists from the University of Massachusetts to investigate the impacts of recreational angling on golden dorado (Salminus brasiliensis). This emerging recreational fishery presents a sustainable development opportunity for local lodges and fishing guides but the viability of this industry is contingent on developing adequate conservation mechanisms that ensure the survival of caught-and-released fishes. Working out of our defacto research station at the Juramento Fly Fishing Lodge, our team (comprised of biologists, fishermen, and lodge owners) used blood sampling and tagging to compile data on fish stress and movement.

Having not been a fisherman myself, I arrived in the region without ever having cast a fly rod in my life. Yet two weeks into our trip I found myself reeling in my first fish ever. After a lot of give and take the line went limp as my dorado tore through the wire leader and disappeared down the turbid Juramento River. I had been told that it’s the ones that get away that we remember the most and to this I can attest. With added dedication, I did eventually land a golden dorado and each fish proved truly remarkable.