43 giant catfish caught as hunting season opens

This year, the Kaeng Krachan Dam Freshwater Fisheries Prevention and Suppression Unit allowed fishermen to hunt up to 50 giant catfish from November 15 to January 15.

It is now expected that fishermen will be able to catch the whole quota of 50 well before the hunting season ends after 14 fishermen netted 43 of the fish in the past nine days. Six were caught on Wednesday alone.

While the largest giant catfish came in at 182 kilogrammes, the smallest weighed 50kg.

To prevent giant catfish from disappearing from Kaeng Krachan Dam, fishermen must donate money from sales of their catch to a fund.

The cash will be used to release young giant catfish into the dam, organise a ceremony to make merit for the breed on April 9 each year, develop fisheries and create awareness in preserving aquatic species.

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