Animals and plants living in freshwaters are most at risk of extinction:

 http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE59A1QS20091011

Scientists found the extinction rates for freshwater species were four to six times higher than for their terrestrial and marine counterparts. 

Beginning on September 1st, a new rule takes effect in Texas limiting catch of alligator gar to one per day per angler.  No limit existed before the change.

 http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/world-100336-protection-alligator.html

Freshwater fish at the top of the food chain may evolve more slowly than fishes at lower trophic levels:

 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090728125824.htm

Join Zeb Hogan on his search for the world’s largest freshwater fish.  The program features 10 of the largest and most endangered freshwater fish on Earth, including sawfish, taimen, Mekong giant catfish, white sturgeon, alligator gar, and Chinese paddlefish. 

Join aquatic ecologist Zeb Hogan continues his quest to find and protect the worlds largest freshwater fish in the frigid rivers of Mongolia. He will travel by plane, truck, and horseback to find the world’s largest trout known as the taimen (Hucho taimen). This is not your everyday dinner trout. This monster can grow up to 6 feet in length and weighs up to 200 pounds. Once king of the river, the taimen is starting to disappear. And as winter approaches and temperatures drop, Zeb will be up against a tight deadline. Join him and a team of scientists, anglers, and local Mongolians as they search for the worlds largest trout: the Taimen.

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.