"Brachyplatystoma" are important food fish. In the Amazon Basin, thousands of metric tons of fish from this genus are caught for both local consumption as well as exportation. These fish are usually caught with the use of longlines or drift nets. They are also captured by harpoon as well as ropes with large fish hooks at the end. "B. filamentosum" is a major fishery, and "B. rousseauxii" has become the most important species in the Amazon River basin. "B. rousseauxii" and "B. vaillantii" constitute a significant percentage of Amazonian food fish. Based on a review by IBAMA, "B. vaillantii" was by far the most caught fish by weight in the Brazilian Amazon in 1998, "B. rousseauxii" the fourth most caught and "B. filamentosum" the sixth ("Semaprochilodus" spp. second, "Prochilodus nigricans" third and "Brycon" spp. fifth). The flesh of "Brachyplatystoma" is considered to be of excellent quality.