How Can Paiche Be ‘New’ And ‘Prehistoric’ At The Same Time?

A ‘new’ freshwater fish is getting a buzz in South Florida, the Paiche, or arapaima, is popping up in hip restaurants and being toured as a sustainable alternative to sea bass and other fish.

Paiche is an air breathing fish, which makes it susceptible to harpooning, because they tend to remain near the water’s surface, where they hunt and emerge often to breathe with a distinctive coughing noise. I am hoping that the claims of sustainable farming are true:

Ina Paive Cordle, Seafood Sensation

A new freshwater fish has landed at select South Florida restaurants, offering diners a rewarding taste sensation and chefs a delectable and sustainable alternative to rival the popular Chilean sea bass.

The Amazone paiche (pronounced pie-ché) gives the health and environmentally conscious a farm-raised option for an endangered wild, prehistoric Peruvian fish, considered one of the largest river fish in the world.
[…]
Artisanfish is the exclusive importer for the Americas of the Amazone brand of paiche. Amazone, which is part of a privately held Peruvian business group, is the only company aqua farming the fish, free of chemicals, hormones or contaminants, and with an aim to restore the species, Burstein said.

[…]

While paiche is just making its debut on plates locally, it is already a hit in France, the biggest market so far for Amazon paiche, he said.

Restoring the species because people have been hunting it to extinction, and it has been protected by International law for 20 years. I worry that the fish becoming the new hot thing will lead to a new wave of overhunting.

(Source: foodte-ch)