Fishing in Araucárias National Park

Araucárias National Park sits on the Campos Gerais plateau in western Santa Catarina, where the terrain rolls between roughly 800 and 1,200 meters elevation.

The park's 12,841 hectares protect one of the last significant stands of Araucaria moist forest in southern Brazil, and the forest does real work for the water: the tree cover and wetlands maintain water quality across several river systems that drain the plateau.

The principal waters inside the park are the Rio Chapecó and the Rio Chapecozinho, along with the Rio Mato and Rio Caratuva. Smaller streams, a reservoir lake, and at least one pond round out the aquatic environments researchers have sampled across the park.

The rivers run through forested valleys cut into the plateau, with access to at least one river section possible via a trail descending from the Passos Maia side.

Fish surveys conducted inside the park recorded 22 species across 1,022 specimens, with Siluriformes — the catfish order — showing the greatest species richness.

The most widely distributed species were Astyanax scabripinnis, Oligosarcus brevioris, Hoplias malabaricus (the traíra), and Rhamdia quelen.

Crenicichla empheres, a pike cichlid considered endemic to the Chapecó River basin, was also documented inside the park.

Researchers additionally recorded Crenicichla lepidota, Pareiorhaphis vestigipinnis, and Pareiorhaphis steindachneri — species for which the Chapecó basin had no prior records at the time of the study.

One pond inside the park held Cyprinus carpio, an exotic species, which is worth noting for anyone thinking about the park's conservation context. The park is administered by the Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (ICMBio).

Before fishing here, confirm current regulations and any required permits directly with the park, as rules for protected areas of this category can differ from standard state licensing requirements.

The fish community here is native, largely unstudied by most anglers, and tied directly to a forest that is still recovering. That context shapes every cast.