Giant Catfish

[senshusband]

As I was sitting on the sofa the other night, I caught a show on National Geographic about the Giant Catfish of the Mekong River. I was absolutely amazed at how big the fish were. Their appearance was that like a catfish and would get 7,8, even 9 feet long (2.5-3 meters)! In addition, they showed freshwater stingrays that were about 5 feet (1.5 meters) from head to tip. Has anyone had the opportunity to see one of these fish in person?

[senshusband]

Really!? Nothing? For the record, I am not trolling but very intrigued as to the "monsters" that I would have never thought possible if I had not seen it on film. A neat fact about some of the fish is that they have no teeth, just slick gums. I found it interesting in that "non-carnivorous" would be ones to be so big. Oh well, if nobody knows anything I guess I just became rich (in knowledge).

[senshusband]

I'm not sure about the spelling of the place, but a lot of the footage came from Ban Sian Kong.

[phibunmike]

The giant Mekong catfish are famous, I believe, but in serious decline (what isn't ).

There is a dead one (stuffed, or maybe a fake) hanging in a restaurant in Kong Chiam.

If you are interested, check the Mekong River Commission's website www.mrcmekong.org and download their Technical Paper No. 3, which describes this, and other, giant Mekong fish species.

Cheers,

Mike

[Samuian]

there is this famous old picture with about 21 US Servicemen holding "their catch"...... huge!

8-10 ft. and around 300 kg doesn't seem to be rare!

Edited November 21, 2009 by Samuian

[Mahseer]

Hers's a link to the show with just the barest of information: http://megafishes.org/category/mekong-giant-catfish/

[Mahseer]

Here's a link to the sting ray in Cambodia:

and the Mekong giant catfish:

[senshusband]

Cool links. I'm glad that someone had heard and/or seen something about the fish and stingray, so as I wasn't just telling another "Big Fish" story. In the program I watched, a Cambodian fisherman was telling the story of his run-in with one of the stingrays. It was said that it happened about 30 years ago, but the man will never forget what he witnessed one day. He was describing the ray's tail and he held up a stick, a little more diameter than a broom handle. The host/researcher asked him if he remembered how big its body was and he outlined, in the sand, an area 4 meters wide and 8 meters long! Of course, he is very sure that's how big he remembers it.

The whole purpose of the show was so that the host, Zeb Hogan, could catch one of the monster fish, with the help of local Thai fisherman. Upon capture, the fish would be tagged, a DNA sample taken, and then released back so it could be tracked and spawning areas identified. As Mike had stated, the fish are in steep decline and some are working to protect them to get the population back up. It showed a meeting between the Thai Dept. of Fisheries and the Giant Catfish Fishermans Club and how the Dept. wanted to ban fishing for this species of fish. The fishermen were upset about this complaining about how they would make a living and eat if they could not fish for these fish. Now I myself am American and when the Dept. of so-and-so tells me that I cannot hunt or fish for something specific, I assume that there is a 90% chance that it is legitimate and they have done the proper research to back this up. Ha! Tell that to a Thai fisherman who can make around 34,000 baht for some of those huge fish. The fishermen told that Dept. official that they would not stop fishing and that's that. It really didn't surprise me that they would choose fast money today and risk the extinction of the fish, rather than doing the rational thing. Oh well. Hope they have pictures saved somewhere so that the fish do not turn into a myth.

[chuckd]

Now I myself am American and when the Dept. of so-and-so tells me that I cannot hunt or fish for something specific, I assume that there is a 90% chance that it is legitimate and they have done the proper research to back this up. Ha!

senshusband:

I, too, am an American and have been dealing with the US Government in some shape form or fashion for nigh on 50 years.

When the Dept. of so-and-so tells me something, I assume there is a 99% chance they don't have a clue what they are talking about.

It reminds me of that old joke..."Hi, I'm from the Government and I'm here to help you!"

When you hear something like this.....Run, Forest, Run.

[Thongkorn]

I read some were on my travels, That there is a Thai river that the locals can only fish it one day every year, They have caught cat fish that take 5 men to land them , I have seen pictures just cannot remember where the then river is in Thailand.

[senshusband]

Now I myself am American and when the Dept. of so-and-so tells me that I cannot hunt or fish for something specific, I assume that there is a 90% chance that it is legitimate and they have done the proper research to back this up. Ha!

senshusband:

I, too, am an American and have been dealing with the US Government in some shape form or fashion for nigh on 50 years.

When the Dept. of so-and-so tells me something, I assume there is a 99% chance they don't have a clue what they are talking about.

It reminds me of that old joke..."Hi, I'm from the Government and I'm here to help you!"

When you hear something like this.....Run, Forest, Run.

Well, I am from Arkansas and we really do depend on mother nature and her critters for help. The Game and Fish Commision cancelled fall turkey hunting this year. Many people were upset about this in that it was debated as to if hunting was a "Right" or a "Privilege". Hunting was cancelled due to low numbers in the population. It is noticed that there are fewer turkeys than normal. Now, while there was 11,069 in '07 and 13,598 in '06 Spring Hunting seasons, the fall hunting '07 season only recorded 297 turkeys being killed/checked. Harvesting turkeys in the fall is extremely difficult and less likely. I am by no means an environmentalist nor do I ALWAYS follow the rules, but I feel that if there is no supervision or oversight, humans are often susceptible to cause more harm than good. As is the case with the Mekong catfish. Yes, the people have fished the river for centuries, but now they are able to process the fish with more ease than before and are making more in return, so there is no thought as to conservation. I'm sure there are some who feel that if they don't catch them, then someone else will and they will not profit from this, so they had better catch what they can today and worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.

[senshusband]

I read some were on my travels, That there is a Thai river that the locals can only fish it one day every year, They have caught cat fish that take 5 men to land them , I have seen pictures just cannot remember where the then river is in Thailand.

Where I am referring to is the Mekong between Thai and Laos. Now there may be another river in Thailand that you are thinking about, but I have not heard of any others with such fish.

[isanbirder]

I read some were on my travels, That there is a Thai river that the locals can only fish it one day every year, They have caught cat fish that take 5 men to land them , I have seen pictures just cannot remember where the then river is in Thailand.

Where I am referring to is the Mekong between Thai and Laos. Now there may be another river in Thailand that you are thinking about, but I have not heard of any others with such fish.

Giant catfish (pla buek) are only found in the Mekong, and are pretty rare there due to over-fishing. Fortunately for the species, they can be, and are, raised in captivity; if you see them on a restaurant menu, chances are they are captive raised. I don't know where they raise them, though.

[senshusband]

I read some were on my travels, That there is a Thai river that the locals can only fish it one day every year, They have caught cat fish that take 5 men to land them , I have seen pictures just cannot remember where the then river is in Thailand.

Where I am referring to is the Mekong between Thai and Laos. Now there may be another river in Thailand that you are thinking about, but I have not heard of any others with such fish.

Giant catfish (pla buek) are only found in the Mekong, and are pretty rare there due to over-fishing. Fortunately for the species, they can be, and are, raised in captivity; if you see them on a restaurant menu, chances are they are captive raised. I don't know where they raise them, though.

You know, in the beginning minutes of the program, some Thai men and the host had a catfish captured and had what looked similar to an I.V. tube inserted in the fish and sucked some of its eggs out to study. It was told that out of millions of eggs only a few would produce and become fish. The survival rate out of those is less than 1%. The fish that was tested was in captivity for reproduction purposes.

[Rdrokit]

If you get to Korat head over to the Mall. They have a waterfall and fish pond inside and there are giant catfish swimming in there. About 5 feet long.

[Thanyaburi Mac]

I read some were on my travels, That there is a Thai river that the locals can only fish it one day every year, They have caught cat fish that take 5 men to land them , I have seen pictures just cannot remember where the then river is in Thailand.

Where I am referring to is the Mekong between Thai and Laos. Now there may be another river in Thailand that you are thinking about, but I have not heard of any others with such fish.

That's up in the Mekong between Chiang Khong, Chiang Rai Province, up towards the Golden Triangle.

I've seen the fish there long years ago, not so many now, especially due to the Upper Mekong dams built by the Chinese.

Mac

[Thanyaburi Mac]

there is this famous old picture with about 21 US Servicemen holding "their catch"...... huge!

8-10 ft. and around 300 kg doesn't seem to be rare!

That "famous old picture" was actually taken at the SEAL training base at Coronado, California. I first saw the photo 10+ years ago, curious, and it took some good googling to find the story. I've emailed with Leo Smith, the guy who took the photo, he was at Scripts at the time. It's an Oarfish.

Mac