In the Wake of Golden Dorado: Putting Science Behind Conservation and Management

Golden dorado are an iconic fish species of Neotropical watersheds. They are fierce predators that likely play an important ecological role in the waters they inhabit. Of course, their explosive strike, leaps, and beautiful colors put them on the bucket list of many anglers, with the recreational fishery helping to support the economy of local communities.

Like many freshwater fishes, Golden Dorado are facing a myriad of threats including overharvest, poor handling practices, habitat fragmentation by damming and water diversion, and a range of negative impacts from climate change. Although they are ecologically and economically important, scientific evidence necessary to inform the conservation and management of Golden Dorado is limited. Surprisingly, this is not unlike many other recreationally targeted fish species worldwide, however a considerable difference is the will and determination to undertake the science and ensure that related conservation and management actions are embraced by all stakeholders.

In the Wake of Golden Dorado is a collaborative project focused on filling knowledge gaps that can contribute to the conservation and management of the species. The project is founded on the passion of the collaborators to see Golden Dorado populations remain healthy and strong. Founding partners in the project include fisheries scientists from Argentina (National University of the Northeast, (Corrientes), the United States (University of Massachusetts Amherst), and Canada (Carleton University), the government of the Corrientes province, and Set Fly Fishing. We hope to broaden the collaboration to build greater unity tied to the science-based conservation of Golden Dorado.

This project is capitalizing on two existing efforts – external tagging of Golden Dorado managed by the National University of the Northeast, and genetics/genomics research by the University of Massachusetts Amherst (supported by the International Game Fish Association). Combined, preliminarily results demonstrate that the Golden Dorado in the Parana River watershed could be critically important for the maintenance of Golden Dorado populations in adjacent river systems.

With that, we are embarking on a new phase of the project that includes using of electronic tags and manual and fixed stations to quantify the movements, habitat use, and migrations of Golden Dorado in the Parana River. Although the physical scale of the Parana River is immense, we have several novel solutions are in reach to help achieve our goals. For this research, we already have some funding and in-kind support, but much more is need. If you are interested in contributing to this effort, please contact Dr. Andy Danylchuk (danylchuk@eco.umass.edu).