MEKONG GIANT CATFISH
The catfish currently holds the title for worlds largest freshwater fish reaching 330 to 440 pounds in 6 years. They are revered in Thai folklore and special rituals are taken before being fished.
Originally the catfish lives in the lower Mekong of Vietnam all the way to the Yunnan province of China. Now they lived in the middle Mekong in small fragmented populations.
Due to overfishing, decreased water quality, and upstream damming they are in danger of becoming extinct. In the last 14 years, there is an estimated 80% decline in the population. Fishing for the catfish are illegal in the wild in Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia but proven ineffective. The Thailand Fishery Department has established a breeding program to restock the Mekong river. From 2000 to 2003, an estimated 10,000 captive individuals were released in the reservoirs rather than the Mekong river.
Originally the catfish lives in the lower Mekong of Vietnam all the way to the Yunnan province of China. Now they lived in the middle Mekong in small fragmented populations.
Due to overfishing, decreased water quality, and upstream damming they are in danger of becoming extinct. In the last 14 years, there is an estimated 80% decline in the population. Fishing for the catfish are illegal in the wild in Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia but proven ineffective. The Thailand Fishery Department has established a breeding program to restock the Mekong river. From 2000 to 2003, an estimated 10,000 captive individuals were released in the reservoirs rather than the Mekong river.
CHINESE STURGEON
The fish is considered a national treasure in China just like the giant panda. Originally they were found China, Japan, and the Korean Peninsula but disappeared from many regions due to habitat loss and overfishing. They weigh between 440 and 1,100 pounds.
They have a habit of upstream migration and have the longest migration of any sturgeon that once swam up more than 2,000 miles up the Yangtze River. There was an estimated 2000 sturgeon that spawned in the Yangtze River in the 1970s but now there are several hundred left due to habitat destruction and pollution. In the early 1980s, the construction of the Gezhouba Dam blocked the Jinsha River spawning site. They are also threatened by an increase in boat traffic.
The Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute has been in charge in breeding sturgeon in captivity. On April 29, 2005, over 10,000 fry, 200 subadults, and 2 adults have been released in the Yangtze River to mark the 20th anniversary of sturgeon conservation. But in 2007, 14 juveniles were found near the Yangtze mouth compared with 600 the year before.
They have a habit of upstream migration and have the longest migration of any sturgeon that once swam up more than 2,000 miles up the Yangtze River. There was an estimated 2000 sturgeon that spawned in the Yangtze River in the 1970s but now there are several hundred left due to habitat destruction and pollution. In the early 1980s, the construction of the Gezhouba Dam blocked the Jinsha River spawning site. They are also threatened by an increase in boat traffic.
The Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute has been in charge in breeding sturgeon in captivity. On April 29, 2005, over 10,000 fry, 200 subadults, and 2 adults have been released in the Yangtze River to mark the 20th anniversary of sturgeon conservation. But in 2007, 14 juveniles were found near the Yangtze mouth compared with 600 the year before.
APACHE TROUT
They are a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family. They weighed between 6 ounces and 6 pounds. The trout is the state fish of Arizona and is one of two trout native to the state. They lived in cool clear streams of the White Mountains and are native to the upper Salt River and Little Colorado River watershed. The trouts spawned from March to middle of June and laid between 646 and 1,083 eggs.
Since the 1940s, recovery and management of the trout has been ongoing. Around a hundred years ago they could be found 600 miles of streams of the White Mountains and in the late 1960s it has been reduced to 30 miles of streams. When the Endangered Species Act of 1969 was passed, the Apache trout was one of the first species listed under it. Today they are threatened by hybridization from rainbow trout and forest fires. Many headwaters of Mount Baldy that are the last stronghold of the trout is closed to fishing.
Since the 1940s, recovery and management of the trout has been ongoing. Around a hundred years ago they could be found 600 miles of streams of the White Mountains and in the late 1960s it has been reduced to 30 miles of streams. When the Endangered Species Act of 1969 was passed, the Apache trout was one of the first species listed under it. Today they are threatened by hybridization from rainbow trout and forest fires. Many headwaters of Mount Baldy that are the last stronghold of the trout is closed to fishing.