World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has released a report titled River of Giants: Giant Fish of the Mekong which profiles four massive fish living in the Mekong— the 7th longest river in Asia—that are threatened with extinction if hydropower dams planned for the river receive a green light.
Measuring half the length of a bus and tipping the scales at an incredible 1,322 pounds, the giant freshwater stingray is featured in the WWF report along with the 771 pound critically endangered Mekong giant catfish. Other species expected to be negatively impacted by the dam include the dog-eating catfish and giant barb which both weigh 661 pounds.
The hydropower dam planned for Sayabouly Province in northern Laos is the first lower Mekong River mainstream dam to reach the final stage of planning before construction is approved by the Mekong River Commission. According to scientific data, any dam built in this region of the river will block the migration routes to spawning grounds creating an eventual reduction in population.
“A fish the size of a Mekong giant catfish cannot swim across a large barrier like the Sayabouly dam to reach its spawning grounds upstream,” said Dekila Chungyalpa, Director of WWF’s Greater Mekong Program. “Building this and other dams will lead to the collapse of the wild population of this iconic species.”
Additionally millions of people who are supported by the river could be affected by the dam build due to a reduction in the sediment flowing downstream—which would increase the area’s vulnerability to sea level rise creating economic and environmental hardships.
While WWF promotes sustainable hydropower projects, the conservation organization supports a delay in the approval of the mainstream dams until all aspects of the ecological impact are fully understood.
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Photo Credit: WWF
