The Mekong River, stretching nearly 5,000 kilometers from the Tibetan Plateau to the South China Sea, is the farming and fishing lifeline of tens of millions of people in China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.
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| Fish in the Mekong River account for more than 15% of the world 's inland fish catch. (Illustration photo) |
According to a report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, threats to the fish include: Habitat loss, conversion of wetlands to agriculture and aquaculture, unsustainable sand mining, introduction of invasive species, worsening climate change, and hydroelectric dams that cut off the flow of the river and its tributaries.
“The biggest threat right now and growing is hydropower development,” said fish biologist Zeb Hogan, head of the Wonders of the Mekong organization.
Dams alter the flow of the world's third most biodiverse river, altering water quality and blocking fish migration, he said.
According to Reuters in 2022, hydroelectric dams built by several countries upstream have blocked much of the sediment that provides essential nutrients to tens of thousands of farms in the Mekong Delta.
About 19% of the 1,148 fish species in the Mekong River are at risk of extinction, according to a report by conservationists called "The Mekong Forgotten Fishes," adding that the number could be higher because so little is known about 38% of the species.
Among those facing extinction are 18 listed as “critically endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, including the world’s two largest catfish, the world’s largest carp, and the giant freshwater stingray. “Some of the largest and rarest fish… anywhere on Earth are found in the Mekong,” Hogan added.
The report also said that the decline in fish in the Mekong River – which accounts for more than 15% of the world's inland fish catch, generating more than $11 billion annually – could compromise the food security of at least 40 million people in the lower Mekong basin whose livelihoods depend on the river.
It is not too late for delta countries to coordinate efforts to reverse the negative impacts on fish populations. “If we all work together to develop the river sustainably, there is still hope,” said Mr. Hogan.
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