Discovering a giant snakehead fish using its eDNA in the Chao Phraya River Basin

What is it about?

This is an investigation into the use of a cutting-edge method, eDNA, to discover a giant snakehead in the Chao Phraya River Basin, which is one of the world's most prolific inland fisheries. Wild fish stocks have been considerably depleted as aquaculture production has increased fast. Aquaculture intensification could have a harmful impact on the environment. One of the fish species now used in substantial quantities for capture-based aquaculture is the giant snakehead. In this case, a dependable, cost-effective, and accurate method of detecting fish in such a huge environment as the Chao Phraya River and its tributaries was established, which will undoubtedly be valuable for fish management.

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Photo by Kristin Snippe on Unsplash

Photo by Kristin Snippe on Unsplash

Why is it important?

As the world's population grows, it is very important that aquaculture production keeps growing. If capture-based aquaculture is done more, wild fish stocks could be used up. So, urgent management is needed because the traditional ways of figuring out if fish are being overfished, doing surveys, and keeping an eye on them have several problems. The eDNA-based method has been shown to be a good alternative way to find or keep track of fish. This could greatly improve assessment and help us understand the threats to ecosystems. The method will help plan how to manage resources in a way that is good for the environment. It would also be useful not only for figuring out where native species live in major river systems, but also for keeping an eye on rivers for fish that escaped from aquaculture farms.

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