Rare fresh-water fish on brink of extinction

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 Of the nine major rivers and 2,360 rivers and waterways connecting with the East Sea, the Mekong is the largest. The river runs through China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

The fast development of hydropower projects in the Mekong River has seriously affected the ecosystem and obstructed migration routes and narrowed food sources of fish.

The Vietnam National Museum of Nature said that the last Siamese crocodile in the country was killed in Ha Lam nursery pond in the central province of Phu Yen’s Song Hinh District on September 30, 2012.

Four rare fish on sale at a restaurant in the Central Highlands region.

This was a result of sluggish construction of the 600-hectare Ho Lak Siamese crocodile preservation area. Despite the prime minister approving the project in 2008, it remains unfinished five years later.

As water levels have dropped in the area the native Siamese crocodiles have been driven to extinction.

Despite regulations on aquaculture catching in natural water areas, the uses of explosives and electricity for aquatic exploitation remain common and aren’t prevented by local authorities due to the lack of human resources.

Director of Agriculture Office in Dak Lak Province’s Lak District admitted that due to water pollution at Lak Lake and people’s overexploitation, people now can’t find bronze featherback in the lake and have to buy the fish from the surrounding area to meet the demand.

Using electricity for fishing at Dray Nao Waterfall.

Hydropower projects are required to incorporate fish migration routes or create supplement flows for fish. However, no project in Vietnam has bothered to meet this basic requirement.

Dr. Phan Dinh Phuc, Director of the National Centre for Central Fresh-water Aquatic Breeding, said the centre is conducting a project to provide Thai mahseer genes at a national level from 2012 through 2016.

The centre plans to research catostomidae under a project initiated by Dak Lak provincial Department of Science and Technology, he added.

Nguyen Van Thao, Deputy Director of Dak Lak Province’s Fisheries Branch, said it would take some years to implement the project. This means that such rare fish species is still in desperate need of protection.