HO CHI MINH CITY, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam has succeeded in artificial reproduction in the giant barb or Siamese giant carp, the largest species of cyprinid on Earth, which is now considered critically endangered in the world.
Vietnam's National Center for Southern Freshwater Fish Breeding has transferred giant barbs it has produced using artificial reproduction techniques to local farmers for breeding on a trial basis, according to the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of southern An Giang province on Tuesday.
Therefore, fishery bureaus in Vietnam's Mekong delta provinces have proposed the country's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development remove the giant barb from the Vietnamese list of valuable aquatic creatures on the verge of extinction.
The giant barb is found only in the Mae Klong, Mekong, and Chao Phraya River basins in Indochina. It has declined drastically due to habitat loss and overfishing.
