More or Less Mekong Fish?
Fish protein provides much of the staple diets of the six mekong River nations
UPDATE: Fish stocks and bio-diversity are critical issues for the six Lancang/Mekong countries. In particular, the lake inland catchment area’s such as TonleSap are home to thousands of species of fish and aquatic wildlife. USAID has just ended its 8-year program, but new sources of funding and support need to be found if the Lancang/Mekong is to continue to improve efforts for protection, rehabilitation, sustainability and perpetuity. The balance between infrastructure development for transport, energy and agriculture is crucial to these efforts.
While river fishermen are claiming to have had smaller catches this season, experts are predicting that this year’s freshwater fish yields will be double that of previous years. Heng Kong, director of the Inland Fisheries Research and Development Institute at the Fisheries Administration (FiA), predicted that with the increased flow of both the Mekong and Tonle Sap Rivers, freshwater fish catches would be higher this year. “Although fishing at the beginning of this season was low, depending on the weather and water flows, I believe that our freshwater fish yields this year will be double that of previous years, while the fish may be larger than last year. “This will be supported by the increased enforcement of the law protecting freshwater fisheries by the authorities,” Kong said. Fishermen along the tributaries of Tonle Sap would likely catch more during November, he added, while those on the lake itself, especially along the main fishing course, could see increased catches in mid-November or early December barring heavy rains or low temperatures. Long Sochhet, president of the Coalition of Cambodian Fishers (CCF), said he also expected fish yields to be better this year. Phnom Penh Post
USAID announces end of Fish Passage program
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United States Department of the Interior’s International Technical Assistance Program (DOI-ITAP) has announced the closure of its Smart Infrastructure for the Mekong program. The program’s signature Lower Mekong Fish Passage Initiative was a regional effort by the five Lower Mekong countries to improve coordination between irrigation and fisheries departments to address the transboundary challenge of declining fish stocks. In partnership with SEAFDEC, the Mekong River Commission, Australia, Japan, and Lower Mekong governments, the five-year initiative assisted in the inventory and prioritization of small-scale barriers to fish passage across the Lower Mekong and included the construction of six demonstration fishways in Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam, which has connected millions of fish to native waters vital to their lifecycle.
“Decades of water control and irrigation development—in particular, the construction of thousands of irrigation dams—across the Lower Mekong threatens fish populations and the livelihood of the millions who depend on them,” said Dr. Steven G. Olive, Mission Director, USAID’s Regional Development Mission for Asia. “Together we’ve shown that small-scale fish passages represent a feasible and relatively inexpensive solution to the problem of declining fish stocks.” USAID
Fish Passage Development Criteria
Development of Fish Passage Technology to increase fisheries production on floodplains in the Lower Mekong Basin has sought to primarily develop the criteria for fish passage developed for Lower Mekong species, as well as understand the extent of current irrigation development and quantify potential social and economic benefits. A series of field-based assessments was devised to specifically answer three research questions:
What is the current extent of floodplain development in Central and Southern Laos?
Can effective low-cost fishways be constructed to mitigate the negative social, economic and environmental impacts of floodplain regulators?
Does the construction of permanently-operating fishways provide quantifiable social, economic and environmental benefits to floodplain wetlands and communities?
The first question involved using a combination of desktop and field validation techniques to effectively enumerate, document and map fish passage barriers throughout two key catchments. The overall outcome was to generate a prioritised list that could be presented to donor bodies and investment banks to guide future restoration investment.
Question two was more focused on developing mitigation options for fish passage that could be applied at the range of identified and mapped barriers. A series of field experiments was devised to define the characteristics of fish passage that were preferred by Lower Mekong species. These characteristics were then used to construct a permanent demonstration fishway which was assessed to determine if it was possible to rehabilitate a floodplain wetland fishery.
The final question sought to determine whether it was possible to quantify if the fishway contributed to positive social and economic outcomes. These were assessed in two major ways: firstly, to determine the overall value of the fishery to local communities, and secondly to determine any perceived or real benefits arising from fishery recovery.
Project Results: Over 7,500 barriers to fish migration were mapped across two catchments; the Xe Bang Fai and Xe Champhone. Detailed characteristics of each barrier were documented and used to populate detailed geographic information systems databases. A prioritised list was generated and has been used to guide further investment opportunities in these catchments. The approach created a strong visual tool for highlighting the overall issue being addressed, which had been used in Australia with significant success. Mekong Fish Network
Fish Migration in the Mekong
In this study, within- and among-species diversity in life history migratory tactics of six Mekong fish genera was examined using otolith microchemistry to explore diadromous (salt and fresh water) and potamodromous (fresh water) traits. Two species were catadromous and one species was an estuarine resident, while the remaining three species were facultative in their migration strategies, with up to four tactics within a single species. Migrant and resident contingents co-existed within the same species. Diverse migration tactics of fishes within the large tropical Mekong River system
EDNA Survey Locates Endangered Predator In Lao PDR
From tigers in the jungle to wolves on the tundra, the presence of top predators is generally a good sign that an ecosystem is healthy. When disturbances like habitat loss or growing human populations disrupt an ecosystem’s function, it is often these large carnivores that are the first to disappear. This trend also applies to aquatic ecosystems, where the existence of top predatory fish species is a good indication of a river’s health. One such predator is the wolf barb (Luciocyprinus striolatus), a fearsome-looking fish from the Mekong that can grow to lengths of two meters (6.6 feet). Despite its imposing size, or perhaps because of it, wolf barb numbers have declined as new dams have fragmented their habitat and increased fishing pressure has reduced their numbers. Currently listed as Endangered, the wolf barb is increasingly rare, and obtaining information on its distribution has proven challenging. In an effort to learn more about the current status of this top predator, FISHBIO – in partnership with Association Anoulak, Nam Theun 2 Power Company, and Comité de Coopération avec Laos – has undertaken a project funded by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) that is employing environmental DNA (eDNA) to map the current extent of the species in Lao PDR. With the aid of this new monitoring approach, important information is being gathered that will help inform wolf barb conservation efforts. Fishbio
Aquaculture is part of the solution
The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the World Bank have agreed to provide loans for a new 5,500 hectare aquaculture project in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta.Due to take place in Hòn Đất district of Kiên Giang province in 2023–2026, it is budgeted to cost VNĐ624 billion (US$26.6 million) – enough to provide infrastructure like irrigation works, roads and power supply systems. The project is set to include shrimp/rice farming and production of giant river prawns. According to Viet Nam News, Kiên Giang province is aiming for its aquaculture sector to annually produce 484,800 tonnes of seafood by 2030. The Fish Site
Lower Mekong fisheries estimated to be worth around $17 billion a year
New estimate based on total production of 4.4 million tonnes for both capture fisheries and aquaculture within the basin. Revised yield estimates and recent first-sale prices indicate that fisheries in the Lower Mekong Basin are currently worth about $17 billion a year. The value is equivalent to three percent of the combined gross domestic product (GDP) of the four countries and 13 percent of the international trade value of fish as measured by the latest export forecasts of $130 billion for this year (FAO, 2015). The MRC Fisheries Programme estimated the economic values of Lower Mekong fisheries
as part of its recent research for an upcoming State of the Basin report for 2015. Total fisheries production was calculated at about 4.4 million tonnes comprising an estimated 2.3 million tonnes from capture fisheries and about 2.1 million tonnes from aquaculture production in 2012, the most recent year for which production figures for all four countries are available. Estimated Fish Stocks