Hundreds of millions of fishes weighing millions of tons migrate along with reverse flows of the Tonle Sap Lake
This drawing shows a fish migration route map from the Tonle Sap Lake to the Mekong River. Illustration: Chhut Chheana
- Chhut Chheana /USAID Wonders of the Mekong
- July 25, 2020 12:17 PM
When the Tonle Sap reverses flow back into the Mekong River in October-November, migratory fishes come along with it.
Beginning in late September or early October, when the level of the Mekong River falls below the level of the Tonle Sap Lake, the water reverses flow from the lake into the Mekong River. There is a saying that "water never flows backwards," but the Tonle Sap River in Cambodia is the only place in the world where water reverses its direction of flow.
At the same time, hundreds of millions of fishes weighing millions of tons migrate along with the flow. Giant barb and giant catfish which are the “kings of fish” are the first to leave the lake. They are followed by a variety of fish such as trey riel (Siamese mud carp), which Khmer people like to process into pra hoc, the salty fermented fish, and smoked fish, as well as hundreds of other small fish species (to be continued).
