Greater Mekong
Home to 1,200 species of freshwater fish and 800 species of reptiles and amphibians, the Mekong boasts a fish harvest estimated at over 2.6 million tonnes per year – 18 percent of the total global inland fishery harvest. Illegal fishing methods, pollution from heavy metal mines and industrial waste from heavy industries along the Mekong’s banks across six countries – China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia – has severely depleted the aquatic life in the Mekong.
Eleven dams proposed along the lower Mekong with the aim of boosting the economies of Laos and Cambodia (including the Xayaburi Dam, Don Sahong Dam and Pak Beng Dam in Laos) are ruining fisheries, and endangering marine life.
Affected by habitat loss, bycatch, hydroelectric dam building, illegal gillnets and poaching, the population of Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris) in the Mekong, listed as “Critically Endangered” in IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species, fell to just 80 in 2015. Toxic levels of pesticides, mercury (from gold mining) and other pollutants have been found in dead specimens. A recent survey led by the WWF recorded 92 Irawaddy dolpins in the Mekong – a result of efforts by the WWF and local dolphin organisations. From 2016 to 2018, 358 kilometres of illegal gillnets were confiscated. Patrols by river guards and reporting of poaching and gillnet activity by tour boat operators has improved their numbers.