NYT: Where a Lake Is Life Itself, Dam Is a Dire Word

Post by **Dinyar** » 28 Apr 2003, 02:47

The New York Times
April 28, 2003

Where a Lake Is Life Itself, Dam Is a Dire Word
By SETH MYDANS

OMPONG PHLUK, Cambodia Ã¢â‚¬â€

Post by **Silurus** » 28 Apr 2003, 02:58

Tonle Sap is actually the name of the river that runs through the Great Lake (which is what it is officially known as).

Post by **Dinyar** » 28 Apr 2003, 03:28

So which species of catfish are found in the Tonle Sap?

Dinyar

Post by **Silurus** » 28 Apr 2003, 03:33

That would be too long to list here. The usual suspects that you find in the Mekong drainage: bagrids, silurids, pangasiids, etc.

Post by **Silurus** » 28 Apr 2003, 21:18

The Mekong River Commission have produced a VCD on fisheries in the Great Lake entitled "Where there is water, there is fish". Available for $5 + shipping from the MRC website at http://www.mrcmekong.org/.
Synopsis (from the site) as follows:
"The seasonal swelling and shrinking of the Tonle Sap Great Lake in the central floodplains of Cambodia has been likened to a beating heart â?? the heart of the Mekong River system, where vast numbers of fish act out their perpetual cycles of migrations. The film tells the story of the great fisheries that have evolved here over the centuries. Today, the food security of Cambodia's population of 12 million still rests on fish and rice. The film stresses the importance of regional cooperation to protect these inland fisheries that are among the richest and most biologically diverse in the world."