Fish Get Chips In High-tech Research Exercise

Fish get chips in high-tech research exercise

BANGKOK: -- Chips may seal the fate of many a happy fish, but they could just save the life of the Mekong Giant Catfish, under research plans unveiled today by the Fisheries Department.

According to department director-general Mr. Sithi Boonyaratphalin, giant catfish being raised in the river have now been fitted with passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags and microsatellite DNA markers as part of a breeding plan to ensure their continuing genetic diversity and prevent disease.

It is hoped that the bred giant catfish, which have been classed as ‘critically endangered’ by the World Conservation Union, can then be released into rivers nationwide.

Over the past 20-plus years, the Fisheries Department has bred over 3 million giant catfish in an attempt to halt its decline. This year the department will establish a giant catfish breeding unit in the northern province of Chiang Rai to continue with the breeding programme.

Other giant catfish research programmes include the fitting of ultrasonic coded transmitters to determine their migratory habits, and the development of giant catfish farming on a commercial basis.

--TNA 2005-04-15