FEATURE ARTICLE
The Imperiled Giants of the Mekong
Ecologists struggle to understand—and protect—Southeast Asia's large migratory catfish
M. Jake Vander Zanden, Zeb Hogan, Peter Moyle, Bernie May, Ian Baird
Southeast Asia’s Mekong
river supports a vast freshwater fishery. One of the species caught
by local fishers is the Mekong giant catfish (Pangasianodon
gigas), which according to The Guinness Book of World
Records is the planet’s largest freshwater fish: It can
measure 3 meters long and weigh 300 kilograms. But fewer and fewer
examples of this huge fish have turned up in nets recently, and last
year the World Conservation Union added this catfish to its list of
critically endangered species. Although the loss of this charismatic
fish would be a tragedy in itself, the plight of the Mekong giant
catfish also highlights the precarious position of other Pangasiid
catfish species inhabiting the Mekong river. Hogan and his
colleagues explain their efforts to understand the migratory
behavior of these fish in hopes of improving the chances for their
long-term conservation.
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