Nong Nghiệp —
According to survey studies, the Mekong River has about 1,200 fish species representing many families, diverse in morphology and lifestyle. Particularly, the Mekong Delta has over 250 species of freshwater fish, of which about 50 species possess high economic value.
However, now only 50-100 species are caught on a regular basis and mainly in lowland areas where there are many inhabitants. It is estimated that in the downstream Mekong region, the volume of inland fishery catches is at least 2 million tons/year (nearly 3 million tons/year at a higher level). Most of the fish caught in the wild are whitefish migrating along the Mekong River.
In the past 30 years, with continuous scientific research efforts of institutes, universities and fisheries research centers in the Mekong Delta’s provinces and cities, now dozens of indigenous freshwater fish species have been artificially reproduced successfully. Of which, there are nearly 20 rare and precious fish species that have the potential to produce seeds and farm commercially to create high economic value.