Distribution and habitat

The Mekong giant catfish is a threatened species in the Mekong, and conservationists have focused on it as a flagship species to promote conservation on the river. Although research projects are currently ongoing, relatively little is known about this species. Historically, the fish's natural range reached from the lower Mekong in Vietnam (above the tidally influenced brackish water of the river's delta) all the way to the northern reaches of the river in the Yunnan Province of China, spanning almost the entire 4,800 km (3,000 mi) length of the river.[10] Due to threats, this species no longer inhabits the majority of its original habitat. It is now believed to only exist in small, isolated populations in the middle Mekong region. Fish congregate during the beginning of the rainy season and migrate upstream to spawn. They live primarily in the main channel of the river, where the water depth is over 10 m (33 ft), while researchers, fishermen and officials have found this species in the Tonlé Sap River and Lake in Cambodia, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. In the past, fishers have reported the fish in a number of the Mekong's tributaries. In December of 2024, 6 of the Mekong giant catfish were sighted and caught along the Tonle Sap River, in Cambodia. However, In 2005 the biggest Mekong giant catfish to be caught was in northern Thailand and weighed up to 292 kg