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ISRA FACTSHEETS

SOUTH AMERICAN INLAND WATERS

ISRA FACTSHEETS

SOUTH AMERICAN INLAND WATERS

Puerto de Pucallpa ISRA

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Puerto de Pucallpa ISRA

Puerto de Pucallpa

Summary

Puerto de Pucallpa is located in the Ucayali River in the Ucayali Region of central-eastern Peru. The area is located ∼150 m above sea level, in the middle section of the Ucayali River at the intersection between the main tributary and one of its branches. It is characterised by sandy and muddy substrates with white waters due to large, suspended sediment loads. This area is flat topographically, surrounded by floodable forests. Within this area there are: threatened species and undefined aggregations (Discus Stingray Paratrygon aiereba).

Puerto de Pucallpa

Puerto de Pucallpa

DESCRIPTION OF HABITAT

Puerto de Pucallpa is located in the Ucayali River in the Ucayali Region of central-eastern Peru. The area is located ∼150 m above sea level, in the middle section of the Ucayali River at the intersection between the main tributary and one of its branches. It is characterised by sandy and muddy substrates with white waters due to large, suspended sediment loads.

The Ucayali River (354,341 km2 drainage area, ∼2,700 km long) is considered the main headwater tributary of the Amazon River (Graca et al. 2025). The lowland Ucayali River (<300 m above sea level) is a meandering river, flowing entirely on a flat topography, flanked by extensive floodplains and oxbow lakes (Graca et al. 2025). At the lowlands, water temperatures fluctuate between 22–27°C. The rainy season is between November–March (Graca et al. 2025). This is a whitewater river because of the large, suspended sediment load (Graca et al. 2025). In the lowlands, floodable forests are the most important riparian habitat (Graca et al. 2025).

This Important Shark and Ray Area is benthic and is delineated from inshore and surface waters (0 m) to 5 m based on the depth range of Qualifying Species in the area.

CRITERION A

VULNERABILITY

One Qualifying Species considered threatened with extinction according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species regularly occurs in the area. This is the Critically Endangered Discus Stingray (Araujo et al. 2025).

CRITERION C

SUB-CRITERION C5 – UNDEFINED AGGREGATIONS

Puerto de Pucallpa is an important area for undefined aggregations of one ray species.

Between 2017–2025, an experienced sport fisher regularly fished along the middle section of the Ucayali River. The Discus Stingray was caught regularly during weekly fishing trips in this area with an average of three to four and a maximum of eight individuals in each fishing set (W Monereau pers. obs. 2025). Species identification was confirmed by regional experts (P Charvet & YTP Torres pers. obs. 2025). The fishing gear used is one rod with one hook or one rod with two hooks and each fishing set lasts a maximum of four hours. This species is caught in this area during day and night. Based on experience fishing across this region, this area has had the highest catch-per-unit effort of this species across the broader fishing region over the last 10 years (W Monereau pers. obs. 2025).

Despite the wide distributional range of this species, populations are concentrated in several main river channels (Araujo et al. 2025). The Discus Stingray has different scattered populations proportionally less abundant than other potamotrygonins (Araujo et al. 2025). Furthermore, according to molecular studies, populations of this species are structured within each river, with no or nearly non-existent gene flow occurring between rivers (Frederico et al. 2012). According to regional experts, the Discus Stingray is caught in very low numbers across its distribution; thus, the numbers recorded in this area a substantially higher compared to most other areas (P Charvet & YTP Torres pers. obs. 2025). Freshwater stingrays are known to aggregate along the shores of these rivers (Araujo et al. 2025), with this location being the only reported one where such numbers are still regularly captured. Further information is required to understand the nature and function of these aggregations.

Puerto de Pucallpa

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