The Mekong Giant Catfish

Only one of these famous, Giant Catfish (“pla buak” in Thai) was caught in 2009; it was a huge female weighing 230 kg.

“This critically endangered fish is only found in the Mekong and its tributaries” says world famous angler Jean-Francois Helias, a passionate supporter of conservation. “The problem is that the whole ecology of the Mekong is being changed by China’s dam-building program, and the blasting of rocks to aid shipping. There has been over-fishing for many years of course, with 20 to 30 being caught per day. But now their breeding grounds are being spoilt.”

The fish that Thai and Laos anglers consider a “spirit fish,” bringing good luck to those who catch it, is also being poisoned by pesticides in the water such as DDT; also mercury, thought to come from gold mining in Laos. However, since the 1980’s, the Thai Fisheries Department has run a breeding program, and many are now stocked in reservoirs and private lakes.

Growing to 3 meters in length and 350 kg in weight, the Giant Catfish has long been a great delicacy. Some years ago, Bangkok restaurants had to order the catfish one year in advance, and a small bowl of tom yam pla buak was priced at a minimum of 150 baht.

Pollution, rock blasting, and a bacterial disease in the Mekong are killing off another species downstream—the 190-km stretch of the Mekong which is home to the graceful, playful, freshwater dolphin. Also classed as critically endangered, these creatures are currently estimated to number only 66 to 76.