Phil, Lusty, man your poles boys!

[Old Hippie]

So in a few years, if they re populate the species, this will be yet another attraction foryou guys...

 

 

Giant Catfish to Be Released in Cambodia

June 14, 2005 9:50 AM EDT

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - Four giant catfish will be released back into the wild in Cambodia to try to boost numbers of the species thought to be on the verge of extinction, a wildlife conservation group said Tuesday.

 

The fish, which weigh about 110 pounds each, have been raised in captivity for the past seven years and will hopefully reproduce after they are returned to the Mekong River, said Seng Teak, country director of the World Wildlife Fund.

 

"The release is very significant for the preservation of this species for the future," he said.

 

At a ceremony Wednesday, officials will free the fish at a junction of the Mekong and one of its tributaries, the Tonle Sap, in the capital of Phnom Penh, the group said.

 

The adult fish were captured when they were small and have been raised in ponds, the statement said. It did not say whether the ponds were privately owned or located at government fisheries.

 

The Mekong giant catfish - known among Cambodians as "the king of fish" - can grow to nearly 10 feet long and a weight of 660 pounds.

 

Some people in the Mekong countries of Southeast Asia believe the species has been fished for thousands of years.

 

But in recent years, its population has dwindled due to overfishing, dam building and navigation projects. It has been listed as critically endangered after research showed its numbers had fallen by at least 80 percent over the past 13 years.

 

Seng Teak said there were concerns the fish might have problems adjusting to the natural environment as they had been raised in captivity for so long.

 

"But if they can adapt to the wild and breed in their natural habitat, that can increase the population in the future," he said. "This is our hope because the giant catfish species is almost extinct and the few that remain are under threat."

 

Prior to their release, they will be fitted with tags meant to warn fishermen that they must be kept alive and returned to the wild, the statement said.

 

Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[Guest lazyphil]

Next time I go fishing in a week or so I'll manage a few bootlaces and a Rudd or two if I'm lucky ::

[Si_Saket_Girl]

"...few bootlaces and a Rudd or two..."

 

What mean? why you not speak engrit?

[Pescator]

Hi Oh,

 

Wow, they are really thinking big here. 4 giant catfish Hopefully they will not all be males!

 

Prior to their release, they will be fitted with tags meant to warn fishermen that they must be kept alive and returned to the wild, the statement said.

 

Tagged? Problem solved then ::

They will undoubtedly be returned to the wild if caught by a poor fisherman despite the fact that each one is probably representing a value exceeding 50k baht. Afterall Cambodia has a high standard of living.

 

Well, at least they are doing something.

 

Cheers

Hua Nguu

[Guest]

Man you pay BIG money for your fish........... 500 baht a kilo????

 

An there are just as many idiots around other parts of the world who put species in peril just for 'sport'. At least here they would feed a village, not mount it on a wall.

 

This is only an experiment as these bemouths have been raised in captivity and may well not adapt to the wilds. But many of us, including poor Khmers, hope they do.

[Pescator]

This is only an experiment as these bemouths have been raised in captivity and may well not adapt to the wilds. But many of us, including poor Khmers, hope they do.

 

Experiment? Where in the original post did you encounter that word?

A blow in the wind if you ask me, 4 specimens raised in captivity released in the wild? Wow, that really rocks. ::

Well, I share the same hope as you do but really this seems to me to be a drop in the ocean.

And to my friend as well, who has worked for the Danida organisation for a couple of years in Laos and Cambodia to monitor the fish popolation particularly in the mekong.

 

But then again, as I said, everything is better than nothing.

 

Cheers

Hua Nguu

[Lusty]

Conservation certainly ain't top of the Thai's priority list.If it swims,crawls,flies or walks,its food.Live for today and don't give a fuck about tommorrow attitude

[cardinalblue]

Geez, after reading the title, I thought you were talking the boys' section of the entertainment districts....

 

CB

[Flashermac]

I remember my wife talking one day about the stupidity of rural Thais, refering to how the villagers would virtually drain a pond or stream of water -- using nets to catch every single fish, no matter how tiny. None at all would be left to breed, and then the next year the village would have no fish to eat. And remember that my wife was born and raised in a village herself.

 

 

 

p.s. I got extremely pissed off when I was a Peace Corps volunteer over the devious bastards who cleaned out my pond. I had a small pond next to my house where I kept a variety of fish, feeding them and ensuring that the water stayed high enough even during the dry season. These were decorative fish, scarcely a one bigger than your little finger at the most.

 

One day I had to go off to Petchaboon or some other place some distance away. When I returned that evening, I found my pond drained and all of my fish gone. I suspect it was the maids in the houses nearby. If I could have found out who had done it, I'd have beaten the shite out of them -- women or not! The evil thieving bastards -- "good" Buddhists, no doubt -- also used to steal the mangoes from a colleague's yard whenever he and his wife went away. It is always behind your back! Don't you just love the Thais???

 

:onfire: