Everything about Pangasius Gigas totally explained
The
Mekong giant catfish,
Pangasianodon gigas, is a
species of
catfish (
order Siluriformes) in the
shark catfish family (family Pangasiidae), native to the
Mekong basin in
Southeast Asia.
Taxonomy
Some sources consider
P. gigas to be a member of genus
Pangasius, while others classify it in
Pangasianodon. This is due to the variable recognition of the level of
Pangasianodon, which is sometimes recognized as a subgenus of
Pangasius and sometimes as its own genus.
Conservation
Endemic to the lower half of the Mekong river, this catfish is in danger of extinction due to overfishing, as well as the decrease in water quality due to development and upstream damming. The current
IUCN Red List for fishes classes the species as Critically Endangered; while the number of individuals living in the wild isn't known, catch data indicate that the population has fallen by 80 percent in the last 13 years.
It is also listed in Appendix I of
CITES, banning international trade.
In
The Anthropologists' Cookbook (1977) Jessica Kuper noted the importance of the
pa beuk to the Lao people and remarked, "In times gone by, this huge fish, which is found only in the Mekong, was fairly plentiful; but in the last few years the number taken annually has dwindled to forty, thirty or twenty, and perhaps in 1976 even fewer. This is sad, as it's a noble fish and a mysterious one, revered by the Lao." (p167)
Fishing for the Mekong giant catfish is illegal in
Thailand,
Laos, and
Cambodia, but the bans appear to be ineffective, with the fish continuing to be caught in all three countries.
Size
Attaining an unconfirmed length of 3
m, the Mekong giant catfish grows extremely quickly, reaching a mass of 150 to 200
kg in only six years.
The largest catch recorded in Thailand since record-keeping began in
1981 was a female measuring 2.7 m (roughly 9
feet) in length and weighing 293
kg (646
lb). This specimen, caught in 2005, is widely recognized as the largest freshwater fish ever caught (although
sturgeon can far exceed this size, they can be
anadromous). Thai Fisheries officials stripped the fish of its eggs as part of a breeding programme, intending then to release it, but the fish died in captivity and was sold as food to local villagers.
Grey to white in colour and lacking stripes, the Mekong giant catfish is distinguished by the near-total lack of
barbels and the absence of teeth.
[Further Information]
Get more info on 'Pangasius Gigas'.
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