About 19 per cent of the 1,148 or more fish species in the Mekong are heading towards extinction, said the conservationists’ report – The Mekong’s Forgotten Fishes – adding that the number may be higher as too little is known about 38 per cent of the species to gauge their conservation status.
Among those facing extinction are 18 species listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, including two of the world’s largest catfish, the world’s largest carp and the giant freshwater stingray.
“Some of the largest and rarest fish … anywhere on earth occur on the Mekong River,” Hogan said.
Fish depletion in the Mekong – which accounts for over 15 per cent of the world’s inland catch, generating over US$11 billion annually – could harm food security for at least 40 million people in the Lower Mekong basin whose livelihood depends on the river, the report said.
Hogan said it was “not too late” for countries in the delta to coordinate efforts to reverse the adverse impacts on the fish population.
“If we take action, collectively take action, to develop the river sustainably, there’s still hope,” he said.
Source: CNA
