The Department of Fisheries plans to implant microchips into 100 giant catfish in an attempt to use DNA-based techniques to promote breeding, in a species under close watch by conservationists due to falling numbers.
The effort is part of the department's plan to boost the giant catfish population in the Mekong River, where clusters could traditionally be found scattered from Chiang Rai to Ubon Ratchathani, for both conservation and commercial purposes.
Praphan Leepayakun, the department's deputy director-general, on Sunday said giant catfish are the largest scaleless freshwater fish and are considered critically endangered due to accelerating habitat loss.
