It is believed to have disappeared like a ‘ghost fish’ seen in the Mekong River

A large freshwater fish that seemed extinct since the beginning of this century has reappeared. For the third time in a very short time, a giant salmon carp has been spotted in the Mekong River in Cambodia.

The salmon carp (aaptosyax grypus) is more than a meter long. The animal was seen three times between 2020 and 2023, and it has now been confirmed in a scientific study. The fish were found three times outside the area where the giant salmon originally occurred. That could mean that the habitat is larger than expected, but it could also indicate that the fish have migrated to other habitats, researchers think.

The ‘ghost of the Mekong’, as the fish is nicknamed, has had a mysterious and mysterious image. The species has always been unusual. Officially less than 30 copies were counted. At the end of the 1990s their numbers began to decline, and in 2005 it was seen for the last time. Until recently.

Conservationists are pleased with the findings. According to them, it is a sign that the Mekong is not so polluted. They hope that the good news will lead to more action regarding nature conservation in the area.

More than 1,100 species of fish live in the Mekong River. Many of these do not occur anywhere else. Scientists have seen the fish population decline rapidly in recent years. 113 species are on the verge of extinction. The number of freshwater fish worldwide – fish weighing 30 kilos or more – has declined by as much as 94 percent since 1970, researchers conclude.

This is largely due to climate change. The area is increasingly prone to cracking. Due to the deforestation of forests, the breeding places for fish are disappearing, and the animals are also suffering greatly from the construction of dams.