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.

 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