BBC Thai fishermen have promised to stop catching the endangered giant Mekong catfish

June 11, 2006

>* Giant Mekong catfish off the hook *

>Thai fishermen pledge to stop catching the giant

>Mekong catfish, in honour of the king's 60th

>anniversary.

>Full story:

>

Giant Mekong catfish off the hook

Thai fishermen have promised to stop catching

the endangered giant Mekong catfish to mark the

60th anniversary of their king's accession to the

throne.

Nearly 60 fishermen made the pledge at a

ceremony in the northern city of Chiang Khong -

one of several events to celebrate the King's

long reign.

The men are being paid $500 (£270) for each giant catfish net they surrender.

The creature was put on the World Conservation

Union's critically endangered list three years

ago.

It was found that numbers of the species had plummeted over a decade.

The giant Mekong catfish can grow to around 3m

in length and weigh up to 300kg.

" This is a great commitment from fishermen, "

Chiang Khong senator Tuenjai Deetes told the

Associated Press news agency.

" Every fisherman will stop fishing giant catfish forever. "

Conservationists said the ban was a first step

towards saving the catfish, but warned that more

needed to be done to ensure their survival.

A Mekong catfish weighing 293kg was netted last

year, believed to be one of the largest

freshwater fish ever caught.

Story from BBC NEWS:

Published: 2006/06/10 19:41:15 GMT

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