Standard Methods for Capture Fisheries Monitoring in the Mekong Basin

The Mekong River features exceptional fish biodiversity, is home to the most intensive inland fisheries in the world and contributes to the food security of millions of rural people. A thorough understanding of their size, ecology and dynamics is critically important for both the management of the sector and the planning and implementation of water development initiatives in other sectors. Coordinated research improves efficiency for research that requires a regional perspective. Standardization of research methodology is fundamental for this coordinated research allowing for the ‘pooling’ of data and information to make valid comparisons of information among the riparian states. Standardization of the methodology also employed nationally for more routine monitoring programmes would help the interpretation of the status and trends of regional fish catch and stocks, and would be fundamental for evaluating the effects of basin management and development. For some 20 years, the Mekong River Commission Fisheries Programme has supported national partner agencies in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam to monitor the abundance and diversity of key fisheries. Monitoring has included species and catches by specific fishing gear such as stationary grid traps, bag nets, bongo nets and gill nets that target migrating fish species.