Floodplain fisheries in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam

We assisted in 1992 with the first inland fisheries survey in the Mekong Delta since 1975, carried out in the frame work of the Mekong Delta Masterplan

The survey was conducted out at two sites (Binh Long and Phu Thanh) in the Mekong Delta of southern Vietnam during the monsoon of 1992. The study found a minimum yield of 80 kg/ha/year at Binh Long and a minimum yield of 42 kg/ha/year at Phu Thanh, with an average of 61 kg/ha/year. At Binh Long more than 50% of the catch belonged to the genus Cyprinidae including Cirrhinus jullieni (Sauvage 1878), Puntioplites proctozysron (Bleeker 1865) and Paralaubuca spp. At Phu Thanh crabs (Somaniathelphusa sinensis) and the snakehead (Ophiocephalus striatus, Bloch 1792), dominated the catch. The low yield estimated for the Phu Thanh site may be the result of low water pH, as this floodplain is located on moderate to severe acid sulphate soils which were disturbed following the modification of the hydrological regime during the last decade.