Arapaima can reach lengths of more than 2 m (6.6 ft), in some exceptional cases even more than 2.5 m (8.2 ft) and over 100 kg (220 lbs). The often cited maximum length of 4.5 m (14.8 ft) comes from a single second-hand-report from the first half of the nineteenth century, and is not confirmed. The maximum-cited weight for the species is 200 kg (440 lbs). As one of the most sought after food fish species in South-America, it is often captured primarily by handheld nets for export, by spearfishing for local consumption, and, consequently, large arapaima of more than 2 m are seldom found in the wild today
Ecology
The diet of the arapaima consists of fish, crustaceans, and other small animals. The fish is an air-breather, using its labyrinth organ, which is rich in blood vessels and opens into the fish's mouth, an advantage in oxygen-deprived water that is often found in the Amaerzon River.This fish is therefore able to survive in shallow waters with dissolved oxygen as low as 0.5 ppm.
Reproduction
Due to the geographic range that arapaima inhabit, the animal's life cycle is greatly affected by the seasonal flooding that occurs. The arapaima lays its eggs during the months of February, March, and April when the water levels are low or beginning to rise. They build a nest approximately 50 cm wide and 15 cm deep, usually in muddy bottomed areas. As the water rises the eggs hatch and the offspring have the flood season to prosper, during the months of May to August. Therefore, the yearly spawning is regulated seasonally. The arapaima male is supposed to be amouthbrooder, like its relative theOsteoglossum, meaning the young are protected in its mouth until they are older. The female arapaima helps to protect the male and the young by circling them and fending off potential predators.
In his book The Whispering Land, naturalist Gerald Durrell reports hearing the tale in Argentina that female arapaima have been seen secreting a white substance from a gland in the head and that their young have been noted seemingly feeding on the substance.
Importance to humans
The arapaima is hunted and utilized in many ways by local human populations. Arapaima are harpooned or caught in large nets and the meat is said to be delicious. Since the arapaima needs to swim up to breathe air, traditional arapaima fishers often catch them by first harpooning them and then clubbing them dead. One individual can yield as much as 70 kg of meat.
The arapaima has also been introduced for fishing in Thailand and Maraysia. Fishing for this species in Thailand can be done in several lakes, where it is not uncommon to see arapaima over 150 kg landed and then released. Special care is needed when dealing with these fish as although they are large they are also hard to deal with, with catch and release after the fish is landed it must be held in a shallow pen/bed for about 3 hours, as this species goes into shock so a careful watch must be kept to make sure that it is coming up for air about every 15 min, if not then the fish can be gently lifted so that its head comes out of the water, when this happens they have a reflex action to breathe. Arapaimas are also known to leap out of the water if they feel constrained by their environment or harassed.
It is also considered an aqurium fish, although it obviously requires a large tank and ample resources. This animal also appears in the pet trade, although to keep an arapaima correctly requires a large tank and can prove quite difficult.
The tongue of this fish is thought to have medicinal qualities in South-America , It is dried and combined with guarana bark, which is grated and mixed into water. Doses of this are given to kill intestinal worms. In addition, the arapaima's bonytongue is often used to scrape cylinders of dried guarana, an ingredient in some beverages, and the bony scales are used as nail files.
The Mekong giant catfish is perhaps the most interesting and most threatened species in the Mekong river. For this reason conservationists have chosen it as a sort of “flagship” species to promote conservation on the Mekong (Hogan et al. 2004, MGCCG, 2005). With recorded sizes of up to 3.2 meters and 300 kilograms, the Mekong’s giant catfish currently holds the Guinness Book of World Record’s position for the world’s largest freshwater fish (Mydans et al. 2005, Hogan et al. 2004, Hogan et al. 2007). Although research projects are currently on going, relatively little is known about this species. Historically the fish has a natural range that reaches 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 length of the river (Lopez et al. 2007, Hogan et al. 2007). Due to threats which will be discussed below, this species no longer inhabits the majority of its original habitat, now believed to only exist are small, isolated populations in the middle Mekong region (Hogan et al. 2004). Fish congregate during the beginning of the rainy season and migrate up-stream to spawn (Hogan et al. 2004). They live primarily in the main channel of the river where the water depth is over 10 m (Mattson et al. 2002) while researchers, fishermen and officials have found this species in the Tonle Sap river and lake in Cambodia (also a UNESCO Biosphere reserve). In the past fishermen have reported the fish in a number of the Mekong’s tributaries, however today essentially no sightings are reported outside of the main Mekong river channel and the Tonle Sap region.
In infancy, this species feeds on zooplankton in the river and is known to be cannibalistic (Pholprasith, 1983 as cited in Mattson et al. 2002). After approximately one year, the fish becomes herbivorous, feeding on filamentous algae probably ingesting larvae and periphyton accidentally (Pookaswan, 1989 and Jensen, 1997 as cited in Mattson et al. 2002). The fish likely obtain their food from algae growing on submerged rocky surfaces, as they do not have any sort of dentition (Pholprasith, 1983 as cited in Mattson et al. 2002).
Conservation
Endemic to the lower half of the Mekong river, this catfish is in danger of extinction due to overfishing, as well as the decrease in water quality due to development and upstream damming. The current iucn-red-list for fishes classes the species as Critically Endangered; while the number of individuals living in the wild is not known, catch data indicate that the population has fallen by 80 percent in the last 14 years. It is also listed in Appendix I of cites, banning international trade.
In The Anthropologists' Cookbook (1977) Jessica Kuper noted the importance of the pa beuk to the Lao people and remarked, "In times gone by, this huge fish, which is found only in the Mekong, was fairly plentiful; but in the last few years the number taken annually has dwindled to forty, thirty or twenty, and perhaps in 1976 even fewer. This is sad, as it is a noble fish and a mysterious one, revered by the Lao." (p167)
Fishing for the Mekong giant catfish is illegal in the wild in Thailand,Laosand,Cambodia, but the bans appear to be ineffective, with the fish continuing to be caught in all three countries. However, in recognition of the threat to the species, nearly 60 Thai fishermen agreed to stop catching the endangered catfish in June 2006.Thailand is the only country that allows fishing for private stocks of Giant Mekongs, this is helping to save the species as the lakes purchase the small fry from the government breeding program generating extra income that allows the breeding program to function.
Fishing lakes like Bung Sam Ran in Bangkok have this species up to 140 kg, most common size landed is 18 kg although there are some companies that specialise in landing the larger fish. These fish are non-aggressive but very powerful as they evolved in the running waters of the MekongRiver where the current flow can be high at times.
The Giant Mekong can also be seen now in the Bangkok River, when feeding fish at the Bangkok temples the Giant Mekong Catfish can be seen at times the largest to date spotted has been about 25 kg.
This species needs to reach 50 – 70 kg to breed, it does not breed in lakes. The Thailand fishery Department has been running a breeding program to re-stock the MekongRiver. It is yet to be seen if the fish will spawn.
Size
taining an unconfirmed length of 3 m, the Mekong giant catfish grows extremely quickly, reaching a mass of 150 to 200kg in only six years. The largest catch recorded in Thailand since record-keeping began in 1981 was a female measuring 2.7 m (roughly 9 feet) in length and weighing 293 kg (646 lb). This specimen, caught in 2005, is widely recognized as the largest freshwater fish ever caught Thai Fisheries officials stripped the fish of its eggs as part of a breeding programme, intending then to release it, but the fish died in captivity and was sold as food to local villagers.
Grey to white in colour and lacking stripes, the Mekong giant catfish is distinguished by the near-total lack of barbeland the absence of teeth.
This hybrid type is an effort to combine the good nature and habits of the above types with the wild caught Betta. The wild caught Betta exhibits small size, speed, and has a very sharp bite. These are very desirable qualities. However, the first batch the breeder makes may not have the desired qualities. The experienced breeder will then select the very best from that batch to breed with the best from another bloodline, the selective breeding process will then begin from there, eventually achieving the desired result.
Sharp Curve Mouth and Long Body or Chitala Ornata Form Type
This is also an old style of Plakat Thai. They have very good shape when viewed from the front, both square and broad. When viewed from above they might look thin, they also have long pelvic and anal fins. These types are very beautiful when flaring and shuffling. They are very fast and
Head and Short Body or Anabas Testudineus Form Type
This is an old style of Plakat Thai. They look short and thick when viewed from above, and look quite broad from the front view. Most of them have solid colors such as green, red, and blue. The scale color will be the same as the fin color. The scale of this type of fish is very tough with a very strong attack. However, the fighting style is quite slow
Snake Fish Head and Long Body or Channa Striata Bloch Form Type
In Thailand, this is the most popular body style of the good fighter. Its movements is very fast, very aggressive, and it has a sharp bite. These fish look rather long. The shape is slender when viewed from the front angle. The colors are assorted, reds, greens, and blues. Their body color is dark and the crystal scales are usually green. Most breeders in Thailand continue developing this type of fish
Environment: Benthopelagic potamodromous Freshwater Fish Species Of Thailand
The giant snakehead (Channa micropeltes) is a freshwater fish species in the snakeheads family (family Channidae) of order Perciformes (perch-likes). The giant snakehead is a native specie to the ecosystems of the Mekong River basin and the Chao Phraya River basin in Thailand.
Natural Food Source
The adult giant snakehead feeds primarily by hunting fish and occasionally will take small mammals such as rats. The juvenile giant snakehead feeds on algae and plankton until it reaches maturity.
Giant Snakehead Identification
The giant snakehead is also known as the toman especially in Singapore. The eel-like body of the adult giant snakehead has a broad, dark, longitudinal stripe; juveniles will have two black longitudinal stripes with a bright orange intermediate area. The dorsal fin is long stretching across the back; a small head with a big mouth displays rows of sharp teeth for trapping its prey. The giant snakehead has a physiological need to breathe atmospheric air forcing it to surface and trap air in its suprabranchial organ.
Recent test results have revealed elevated levels of dioxins in fish and crustaceans across the Harbour, including Parramatta River and other connected tidal waterways. A ban has been placed on commercial fishing as a precautionary measure. This fishing closure took effect at 5:00pm on 10 February 2006 and remains in effect until 9 Feb 2011, unless sooner amended or revoked.
Recreational fishing in the Harbour has not been banned, but fishers are urged to follow dietary advice on the consumption of seafood from the Harbour and to be aware of existing fishing restrictions.
Fishers can continue to practice catch and release.
An expert panel has recommended that fish and crustaceans caught west of the Sydney Harbour Bridge should not be eaten. You should release your catch.
For fish caught east of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, you should generally not eat more than 150 grams per month. Higher amounts of some fish and crustacean species may be eaten. For further details see below
xleyan Pygmy Perch are a small freshwater fish found on parts of the NSW north coast. They are listed as Endangered under the NSW Fisheries Management Act 1994.
The Minister for Primary Industries has made a preliminary identification of Oxleyan Pygmy Perch critical habitat on public lands. Submissions are currently being sought from the public on the preliminary identification.
Additionally, copies of the preliminary identification report and maps may be inspected at Industry & Investment NSW Head Office and regional fisheries offices.
Oxleyan pygmy perch critical habitat Locked Bag 1 Nelson Bay NSW 2315 Fax: 02 4916 3880
Thesis title: A Content Analysis of “Thai Fisheries Gazette”
Researcher: Mr. Watana Kongwatananonda; Degree: Master of Arts (Information Science); Thesis advisors: (1) Dr. Chutima Sacchanand, Associate Professor; (2) Mrs. Piboonsilp Watanapongse; (3) Mathana Sangjindavong, Associate Professor
Academic year: 2008
ABSTRACT
The objectives of this research were to analyze content of “Thai Fisheries Gazette” and study the development and trends in the content of the gazette based on 294 issues with a total of 2,905 articles published between 1948-2007. A content analysis form was used as the research tool. Quantitative data was analyzed using frequencies, percentage, trend line equation and coefficient of determination. The results showed that: (1) Most contents of “Thai Fisheries Gazette” were articles written by 1 person. Most authors were Fisheries Department officers. Most articles were written in Thai language and in an academic written format. Most topics were related to aquaculture and there were no references. Those with references listed 1-5 items most of which were journal articles. (2) The trend in the content of the gazette was an increase in the number of articles written by 2 persons and by 3 persons, and articles written by Fisheries Department officers. Most of them tended to be written in Thai, in the form of research articles and interview articles. Their contents tended to be related to aquaculture. In terms of references, there tended to be more referenced articles that listed English journals, English books, Thai technical papers, Thai books and Thai journals as reference sources. Another trend in the content of the gazette was a decrease in the number of written academic articles. No clear trend was detected in the number of authors either written by 1 person, by more than 3 persons and by anonymous; authors from the Ministry of Education; language either Thai articles and English articles; type of articles either general articles, translated academic articles, review articles, descriptive, seminar or discussion articles; content either articles related to fisheries, fishing, fisheries products, aquatic biology and ecology and other disciplines; and references either articles with no references and number of reference sources.
Anatomy and morphology
