Conservationists are celebrating the discovery and return to nature of six endangered Mekong giant catfish in Cambodia.
Abundant fishing in the Mekong River basin is raising hopes for the revival of one of the world’s largest freshwater fish, an endangered species.
The fishermen and others from the Cambodian Fisheries Authority (CFA) released the fish, smiling as they held up the fish, each weighing up to 130 kilograms.
What the huge harvest means
Wonders of Mekong, a Mekong conservation group funded by USAID, said the capture of so many giant catfish in just five days was a “remarkable and unprecedented event.”
“I’ve never heard of anything like this before,” said project leader Zev Hogan, a research biologist at the University of Nevada.
Reno.
“This is a hopeful sign that this species is not as endangered as it will be in the coming years, and we have time to implement conservation actions and continue to bend the curve from decline to recovery.” It will be given.”
“By tagging these fish, we are gaining important information about their ecology, migration and habitat to ensure their future survival,” Hogan said.
How bad is the plight of the Mekong giant catfish?
The current population of Mekong giant catfish is unknown, but is thought to have declined by about 80% over the past 13 years, according to the IUCN Red List.
Although they are now found only in some areas of the Mekong River and its tributaries, they once inhabited the entire length of the 4,900-kilometer (3,044-mile) Mekong River, from its mouth in Vietnam to the upper reaches of Chinese provinces. I was there. Yunnan.
The Mekong River, a vital waterway in Southeast Asia, has long been plagued by illegal fishing, habitat loss and plastic waste.
Furthermore, the Mekong River basin has become an even more difficult environment to live in due to dams, including so-called mega-dams, and climate change. These have had a devastating impact on water levels and upstream connectivity of the dangerously rare catfish aquatic habitat.
rc/rm (AFP, AP, Reuters)
