VietNamNet Bridge – The maximal weight of the Mekong giant catfish is up to 300 kilos, while the maximal length of its ray is 5 meters. The river, with hundreds of species of fish and the abundant resources of alluvial, is the means of support of tens of millions of people.

With the length up to 3.2 meters and weight up to 300 kilos, Mekong giant catfish

(Pangasianodon gigas Chevy) are among the biggest fresh-water fish species

in the world. However, it is facing the highest danger of extinction among

fish species in the Mekong River. Photo: lugaluda.com.

Mekong giant catfish live in the lower Mekong River basin (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand). The numbers of this species have dropped in recent years because of over-catching, the construction

of hydro-electric dams and pollution. Photo: National Geographic

A Mekong giant catfish. Photo: WWF

As one of the largest species of fresh-water fish in the world, Mekong

freshwater stingray can reach the length of 5 meters and 30 kilos in weight.

However, the number of Mekong rays is unclear. Photo AP

Scientists know only one thing for sure; the number of Mekong rays are falling

sharply in recent decades because their living environment has been destructed.

Photo: National Geographic

Mekong giant carp can reach 2.4 meters long and 250 kilos in weight. Photo: hubpages.com.

A Mekong giant carp. Photo: WWF

Giant Thai carp or black carp are also a species of giant fish in the

Mekong River. Most of them are over 1.5 meters long and over 45 kilos

in weight. The biggest fish can be 3 meters long and 300 kilos in weight. 

The volume of this fish species is also sharply reducing owing to over-catching.

In Vietnam, Giant Thai carp are called ca ho (ho fish). Photo: National Geographic

Vo co fish (Pla Thepa) can grow to 200 kilos and 3 meters in length. Photo: waterwolves.com.

A Pla Thepa fish in the Mekong River: Photo: aquatic-photography.com.

PV