Six highly endangered Mekong giant catfish have been discovered in Cambodia (Chhut Chheana)
Chhut Chheana/USAID WONDERS OF THE MEKONG/AFP
By AFP - Agence France Presse
Six rare giant catfish surface in Cambodia
On Friday, Cambodian conservationists celebrated the discovery of six highly endangered giant Mekong catfish in the important Southeast Asian waterway plagued by illegal fishing, habitat loss, and plastic waste.
Fishermen smiled alongside Cambodian Fisheries Administration (CFA) officials as they held the two-meter-long creatures - weighing up to 130 kg each - before releasing them back into their habitat in the river.
The survival of the giant catfish - one of the world's largest and rarest freshwater fish - underscores the urgent need to protect the river's free-flowing connectivity, according to a statement from the USAID-funded conservation group Wonders of the Mekong.
In addition to overfishing and plastic pollution, the Mekong River basin has been degraded by upstream dams and climate change, which have had a major impact on water levels in the critically endangered catfish's aquatic habitat.
Its current population is unknown, but it is believed to have declined by around 80% in the last 13 years, according to the IUCN Red List.
Cambodia has imposed severe restrictions on fishing in the vast river to reduce the number of endangered aquatic species killed in nets.
The number of Irrawaddy dolphins - which once swam the length of the mighty Mekong - has dwindled despite efforts to preserve them.
In 2022, Cambodian fishermen got a scare when they inadvertently hooked an endangered giant freshwater stingray four meters long and weighing 180 kilos.
Over the past 25 years, the CFA and researchers have tagged and released around 100 giant catfish as part of a conservation program that encourages fishermen to report catches of rare species.
Conservationists said the recent catches of the giant catfish mark “a new era of conservation” and “new hope for the survival of a species that has become increasingly rare in much of its native habitat.”
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