Fomento à pesca e riscos de extinção: uma análise a partir do registro fotográfico do pirarucu (Arapaima gigas) do rio Araguaia em meados do século XX.

This paper discusses the Arapaima gigas' fisheries in the Araguaia River and the debates around this activity through the analysis of the photographic records published in the books Charm of the West (Encantos do Oeste) by Agenor Couto de Magalhães (1945) and Dramas of the West (Dramas do Oeste) by Leolídio Di Ramos Caiado (195?). The interconnections between the books are understood as an active part of the political controversies related to the fishing activity in the mentioned river. The photographic records of pirarucus fishes are directly related to the local contradictions and controversies coupled to the policies and ideology of the "March towards the West" and to the phenomenon of tourism intensification. The specimens captured and photographed were part and fomented two distinct speculations about the future of the Araguaia River: one linked to the success of tourism and the fishing industry and the second one related to the extinction of the species A. gigas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]