The economic downturn has hit the Megafishes Project hard.  Both our major donors have cut back on support for the project.  This means that much of our ongoing research on the Mekong giant catfish, the giant freshwater stingray, the golden mahseer of Bhutan, and the giant Eurasian trout has been delayed.  Please consider making a donation to help support this important work!  All donations are tax deductible.  Thank you!

Dr. Zeb Hogan and the Megafishes Project have partnered with the United Nations Convention on Migratory Species to produce a review of migratory freshwater fish.  The report will include an assessment of the conservation status of migratory fish including possible options for international cooperation under the Convention on Migratory Species.

The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) is an intergovernmental treaty, which aims to conserve terrestrial, marine and avian species over the whole of their migratory range. To achieve this objective the Convention provides a framework for enhancing the conservation status of migratory species through the cooperative efforts of the range states of those species. There are currently 107 Contracting Parties to the Convention.  CMS seeks to conserve threatened migratory species by endeavoring to protect their habitats, remove obstacles that hinder migration, and lessen the impact of identified threats.  As such, the CMS has requested a review on the conservation status of migratory freshwater fish to assess which species/populations are 1) threatened, 2) migratory, and 3) likely to benefit by listing under the Convention for Migratory Species.

For more information about CMS, please see:

http://www.cms.int/

The Megafishes Project has recently established research project on the giant freshwater stingray (Himantura chaophraya) in central Thailand.  Project partners include the University of Nevada, the Thai Department of Fisheries, the sport-fishing company Fishsiam, Dr. Nantarika Chansue of Chulalongkorn University, and the National Geographic Society. The giant freshwater stingray is listed as Vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).  To date, researchers have tagged 18 stingrays and eventually hope to tag 40-50 fish.

For more information please see:

 www.nationalgeographic.com/megafishes

www.fishsiam.com

If you enjoy catch-and-release fishing and would like to help support the Megafishes Project, two new trips have been planned for 2009.

India Trip:

 Join Dave McCoy and Zeb Hogan on a 9-day fly fishing and research driven expedition through the heart of India’s Corbett National Park. The target is the Golden Mahseer, a cold, clean water species, growing upwards of 125 pounds.  For more information:   www.emeraldwateranglers.com  [Read more →]

Fishermen in Chiang Khong, Thailand caught a critically endangered Mekong giant catfish on Friday May 1 2009 .  The female fish weighed approximately 150 kg and measured 170 cm in length.  This capture marks the beginning of the fishing season in Chiang Khong, Thailand and Houay Xay, Laos (across the Mekong River from Chiang Khong).  The female Mekong giant catfish was likely a mature adult migrating upstream to its spawning ground.  More information to follow as reports come in from the field.

 An excellent article by Roger Mollot, published in the Mekong River Commission’s Fisheries publication “Catch and Culture”.

 http://202.62.105.253/Catch-Culture/vol14_3Dec08/wild-population.htm

It’s worth noting that much of the research mentioned in this article is now on hold due to lack of funding.

For those of you interested in the Mekong River, please have a look at a new website dedicated to its conservation:

http://savethemekong.org

Scientists working with the Megafishes Project tagged and released what could have been the world’s largest freshwater fish.  See the details of the catch at:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/02/090226-giant-stringray-picture-missions.html

The stingray, which was not weighed, was caught by volunteer angler Ian Welch then tagged and released by project scientists working with a joint National Geographic / University of Nevada / Thai Department of Fisheries team.

Tag, release, and recapture of fish is one method biologists use to estimate fish abundance.

“Undesirable” evolution in fish – which makes their bodies grow smaller and fishery catches dwindle — can actually be reversed in a few decades’ time by changing our “take-the-biggest-fish” approach to commercial fishing, according to groundbreaking new research published by Stony Brook University scientists.

 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090303193950.htm

Vientiane Times, 19 Feb 2009

An estimated 250kg giant catfish (Pangasianodon gigus) was caught in
Salao village, Phonthong district, Champassak province, on Saturday
night at 11pm by a local fisherman, provincial authorities confirmed
on Wednesday.

Witnesses said the endangered giant catfish (paa beuk) was sold to
traders in Champassak province. According to witnesses, it was loaded
onto a bus bound for Vientiane on Sunday but its whereabouts are
currently unknown. At this stage it cannot be confirmed whether the
fish arrived in the capital.

Fishery experts said the giant catfish is listed as critically
endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
It is likely to face extinction if comprehensive protective measures
are not taken.

Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Office Head, Dr Bounthong
Bouahom, said the Lao law on Wildlife and Aquatic Species explicitly
bans the catching or trade of paa beuk in an attempt to protect it.

“Those who violate the law will be fined a minimum of 200,000 kip.
They will also serve a jail sentence of at least three months and up
to five years,” he said.

Head of the Champassak provincial Department of Agriculture and
Forestry’s Fishery Division, Mr Bounkeut Khamphithak, said the
fisherman caught the fish unintentionally.

“The fisherman concerned told us the fish was nearly dead. If he had
released it the fish would have soon died so he took it. In my
opinion, he should have released the fish, otherwise he risks
violating the law.”

Champassak provincial authorities held a meeting yesterday to discuss
the incident and are preparing a report for higher authorities in
Vientiane .

They also discussed the idea of setting up areas in deep ponds of the
Mekong for the conservation of endangered fish species.

An advisor for the World Wildlife Fund for Nature’s (WWF) Community
Fisheries Project in Laos , Mr Roger Mollot, said the giant catfish
was widely caught by fishermen in the 1980s. The population collapsed
during the 1990s due to over-fishing.

He said the number of catches recorded each year had declined ever
since.

The total population is estimated to be no greater than a few hundred
worldwide but the species is endemic to the Mekong basin.

” Mekong basin countries can only continue to benefit from the giant
catfish by understanding, monitoring and managing the population,” he
said.

Legal protection, whilst encouraging, will alone not be sufficient to
ensure population stabilisation.

“There is a need to develop greater technical capacity and awareness
in Laos to support the legal agreements protecting the giant catfish,”
Mr Mollot said.

There is no formal recording system in Champassak province. Non-
government organisations have asked fishermen to report if they
accidentally catch giant catfish.

Formal recording and monitoring of the population has taken place only
in Bokeo province, following cooperation between Lao and Thai
authorities.

Catches are more predictable in Bokeo as there is a well defined
‘catching season’, and evidence of intent on the part of fishermen.
The giant catfish has cultural and ceremonial importance in northern
Laos . In other Lao provinces paa beuk is typically a ‘by-catch’,
caught entirely unintentionally.

Last year, a villager caught a giant catfish in the Sadam channel in
Siphandone. This is the second recently recorded case of paa beuk
having been caught in Champassak province, but recorded cases are
relatively rare.

In 2007 a dispute over giant catfish in Bokeo province ensued
following the decision of a Thai provincial authority to allow
fishermen to catch the fish. Lao authorities had already introduced a
ban. The decision was soon reversed and international agreements are
now in place offering the fish legal protection.