Jul 28, 2010, 10:45 GMT
Bangkok - Laos' plan to build a hydropower dam on the Mekong River threatens the survival of four giant fish species including a freshwater stingray that can weigh up to 600 kilograms, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) warned Wednesday.
WWF International, in its report River of Giants: Giant Fish of the Mekong, warned that plans to build a hydropower plant on the Mekong in Sayabouly province in northern Laos threatens to disrupt the migratory paths of four species that rank among the world's 10 largest freshwater fish.
'A fish the size of a Mekong giant catfish, simply will not be able to swim across a large barrier like a dam to reach its spawning grounds upstream,' said Roger Mollot, a freshwater biologist for WWF in Laos.
The giant catfish migrates from the Tongle Sap Lake in Cambodia up the Mekong River to spawn in northern Thailand and Laos, according to past scientific research on the elusive species.
The Mekong, the longest river in mainland South-East Asia, originates from the Tibetan plateau in southern China and passes through Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and southern Vietnam where it empties into the South China Sea.
The river is home to many unique fish species including some very large ones, such as the giant catfish, the dog-eating catfish (so named for its love of eating canine carcasses), the giant barb and the giant freshwater stingray.
The Mekong Giant stingray can grow up to half the length of a bus and weigh up to 600 kilograms, making it the world's largest freshwater fish.
'More giant fish live in the Mekong than any other river on Earth,' said Dang Thuy Trang, coordinator for the WWF Greater Mekong Programme. 'Currently, the Lower Mekong remains free-flowing, which presents a rare opportunity for the conservation of these species, but the clock is ticking.'
China has already built at least four large hydropower dams on the Upper Mekong.
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