Pseudoplatystoma magdaleniatum
The large bagre rayado of the Magdalena basin in Colombia, a relative of the surubim and cachara. Critically Endangered in the country: it has a minimum size and a closed season, and the best option for the species is to release it.
Also called: surubim-do-magdalena, bagre rayado, pintadillo
An iconic catfish of the Magdalena River and the largest fish in the basin, with records of up to 1.5 m and 70 kg. Until 2007 it was treated as Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum, a name once used for surubim across South America; the revision of the genus showed that the Magdalena fish is a species of its own, endemic to Colombia, in the Magdalena, Cauca and San Jorge rivers and the floodplain swamps (ciénagas). In the 1970s it made up more than half of the subienda catch (migratory run); since then catches have dropped more than 90% and average size has plunged, due to overfishing and habitat degradation. The Colombian Libro Rojo classifies it as Critically Endangered, and the IUCN as Endangered. Fishing is legal with a minimum size and outside the closed season, but for sport anglers the recommendation is to release.
Elongated body, large flattened head, long barbels. Dark grey back, white belly and broad, straight, vertical dark bands on the flank, without the loops and net pattern on the nape of other surubim. Pale pectoral fins without spots, dorsal with few or no spots and adipose fin with 6 or 7 large spots. It is the only surubim of the Magdalena basin.
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Each card shows the day's index (0 to 100) and, below it, a strip with the index for each hour, from 0h to 23h. from poor to excellent.
Does not occur in Brazil. Endemic to the Magdalena basin in Colombia: Magdalena, Cauca and San Jorge rivers and their ciénagas.
Habitat: Channels of large rivers and floodplains; the juveniles spend high water in the ciénagas of the middle and lower Magdalena.
It makes two migrations a year, in low-water periods, when fish concentrate in the channel. Spawning peaks in high water, from April to June and in September-October, when the closed season applies.
Night and twilight. Hunts more at night and at dusk; by day it stays on the channel bottom.
Little relevance in the Magdalena.
Little effect on the bottom.
Effect not measured.
A rising river triggers spawning.
Low water concentrates fish in the channel.
Not very sensitive.
Little effect.
Channel bottom, 3 to 12 m.
natural baits
accessories
Barbless circle hook and a short fight. Don't take a big fish out of the water: photo with it in the water and release it facing the current.
Summary of the regulations we found, with the source for each. Rules change; before keeping or transporting fish, check with the state environmental agency.
Conservation: In Colombia, the Libro Rojo de peces dulceacuícolas (2012) classifies it as Critically Endangered (CR): catches fell more than 90% in 30 years and average size dropped from 92 cm (1973) to 42 cm (2010) in Mompox. Release it.
In the Magdalena, Cauca and San Jorge basin, bagre rayado may only be kept at 80 cm standard length with head (60 cm without head). Studies cited in the Libro Rojo show that most fish caught today fall below this size.
Source: Resolución INDERENA nº 430/1982 (AUNAP minimum size table in force)
Closed season for bagre rayado in the Magdalena basin (Magdalena, Cauca and San Jorge rivers), with bans on fishing, storage of any kind, sale and transport.
Second closed season for bagre rayado in the Magdalena, Cauca and San Jorge basin. There are also local closures, such as the 'candeleo closure' (light fishing) in the Santander stretch of the Middle Magdalena (Resolución AUNAP nº 2367/2019).
Release it: the species is critically endangered in Colombia. Use a barbless circle hook, don't hang it by the mouth, support the body in the water and revive it facing the current until it swims off on its own.
It was the most prized fish of the Magdalena. Given the species' condition, in sport fishing it is better to release it.
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.00407, b = 3.14; FishBase). It's an average: a fat or lean fish can vary by 10% to 20%.
estimated weight
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The season weights (months), the time of day and the sensitivities (cold, pressure, moon, wind, rain, tide, strong light, murky water and noise) are the app's editorial estimates, based on the literature below and on the field experience of anglers and guides. They are not official data nor a measurement made for this species, and they may vary by region and year. Closed seasons and legal rules appear in the rules section, with the norm and a link.
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