Fishers in Thailand and Laos have pledged to stop netting the endangered Mekon giant catfish, the largest freshwater fish on Earth. Giant catfish can be up to 10 feet long and weigh in at 650 pounds. The Thai fishers made their pledge in honor of the Thai King's 60 year reign. (This giant catfish was caught last year in the Mekong River. Click image for full photo by Suthep Knitsanavanin.)
From National Geographic:
"[This] is the most significant development in the conservation of the Mekong giant catfish in the last ten years," said Zeb Hogan, an associate research biologist at the Mekong Wetlands Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Use Program.
Conservationists say that while the ban is an important step toward saving the giant catfish, more has to be done before the unique species is off the hook.
As part of that effort, Hogan runs a tracking program in which he tags the fish to discover their spawning grounds and to study their migration patterns.
