Mekong River Commission

Mekong giant catfish quota limited to eight following two incidental catches

By Naruepon Sukamasavin *

The Mekong giant catfish (Pangasianodon gigas) is one of the world's largest freshwater fishes. Its status as a critically-endangered species led to the establishment of the Mekong Giant Catfish Working Group in 2005 (see Catch and Culture, Vol 12, No 1). Since then, a mathematical model has been used to reconstruct the dynamics of the population and predict its future development under different scenarios out to 2050 (see Catch and Culture, Vol 13, No 1). Given the depleted state of the population, the working group has developed a conservation strategy with annual harvesting restricted to no more than 10 adults under current conditions and no more than 20 in the longer term.

Fishing limits
At the working group's latest meeting in Udon Thani in April, it was recommended that only eight mature or nearly mature individuals could be caught in 2009 since Cambodia had reported incidental catches of two fish between October and December last year. Since the fishing limit recommended by the working group relies solely on the quantitative assessment model which has still not been intensively reviewed by scientists, it was also recommended that the model be published and disseminated for intensive peer review. The working group recommended that all targeted and known incidental fishing for the species, including a recently-reported site in a li trap fishery in southern Lao PDR, should be carefully monitored for research and population assessment as well as the enforcement of regulations where these are in place. At the same time, regional cooperation in reporting, exchanging information and setting biological limits to fishing should be maintained and strengthened.

Conservation, captive breeding and aquaculture
Habitat and ecosystem conservation are still very important to ensuring the long-term survival of the Mekong giant catfish in the wild. Specifi c habitat use and migrations for the species should be identifi ed and conserved. The possibility of more spawning grouds Flagship species in the north of Cambodia or other places needs to be investigated and confi rmed. For conservation in captivity, the breeding programme in Thailand is very important. It should be conducted using the breeding plan developed by Kasetsart University in Bangkok in order to maintain the genetic diversity of the species. Since cryo-preservation of sperm is essential for the captive breeding programme, cryo-preservation units should be established to provide genetic material when needed. While aquaculture is very important for food security, the high value of the species needs to be maintained. Developing Mekong giant catfish hybrids for aquaculture should be avoided. Membership of the working group includes the Cambodian, Lao and Thai fisheries agencies as well as the MRC Fisheries Programme and the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacifi c (NACA). Other members include Kasetsart University, WWF, IUCN and Imperial College, London.

* Dr Naruepon is the director of the Information Technology Centre of the Thai Department of Fisheries and is also chairman of the Mekong Giant Catfish Working Group