Paul Reiss

Chasing a childhood dream has propelled me to contribute to an adult’s quest - helping to protect the Amazon - a wilderness that embodies the dreams of anglers and conservationists alike. I operate Acute Angling - a sustainable, low-impact jungle outfitting company that explores the Amazon in pursuit of outstanding fisheries - www.AcuteAngling.com. Twenty years of exploratory experience in remote locations with rarely studied fishes has given me an unusual academic opportunity. In 2006, I began a doctoral program at Rutgers University in New Jersey, in order to translate my observational knowledge into useful science that might help protect this region and its aquatic denizens. This evolved into cooperative research efforts with the University of Amazonas and Brazil’s National Institute for Amazon Research. I specialize in and publish work on aspects of the life history of Cichla temensis, the “giant peacock bass”. Ongoing research projects are yielding useful new information and lending acceptance to the concept of sport fishing as a research tool and conservation mechanism. I maintain an information-laden “exotic species” website and provide seminars and lectures to a broad spectrum of attendees, ranging from fishing clubs to university classrooms.

July 2014