The arapaima, a torpedo-shaped giant that can grow to lengths of more than 12 feet, has long been overharvested by fishers in the Amazon, where it's known as the Amazonian cod. So far, however, conservation efforts to protect endangered giant freshwater fish species are mostly regional.Īlligator gars and sturgeon make a comebackĪlthough the outlook for most giant fish remains grim, some species, like the air-breathing arapaima in South America, may be bucking the trend. There are signs that interest in freshwater species is gaining momentum, including increasing calls to explicitly include freshwater ecosystems in the 30x30 initiative, a global effort to set aside 30% of land and sea area for conservation by 2030. The Mekong’s giant catfish can grow to lengths and weights much larger than those of the humans catching them. Many giant freshwater fish are apex predators that can have profound effects on the ecosystems in which they live by keeping their prey populations in check and maintaining biodiversity. The importance of very large fish to freshwater ecosystems has been woefully understudied. "This is a fish that had been on Earth for more than 100 million years before disappearing in a flash," says Hogan, who used to host National Geographic's " Monster Fish" television show and now leads a University of Nevada, Reno, research project I am involved with called Wonders of the Mekong, supported by the U.S. One of the largest species, the Chinese paddlefish, is believed to have gone extinct sometime in the 2000s. Megafish numbers in particular fell by a shocking 94%, according to one study of more than 200 large freshwater species. In a new book, " Chasing Giants: In Search of the World's Largest Freshwater Fish," Hogan and I tell the troubling story of the 30 or so fish species that live exclusively in rivers and lakes and can grow to more than 200 pounds or at least 6 feet (1.8 meters) long.įound on all continents except Antarctica, they are a wonderfully weird bunch of creatures, from colossal catfish and carp to gargantuan gars.īut freshwater vertebrate populations have declined over the past five decades at twice the rate experienced by species within terrestrial or marine ecosystems. The world’s largest freshwater fish confirmed so far is a stingray caught in the Mekong River.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |