is in danger of extinction due to overfishing, as well as the decrease in water quality due to development and upstream damming. A 2018 study suggests that the Mekong stocks could fall up to 40% as the result of dam projects. The current IUCN Red List for fishes classes the species as critically endangered; the number living in the wild is unknown, but catch data indicate the population has fallen by 80% in the last 14 years. It is also listed in Appendix I of CITES, banning commercial international trade involving wild-caught specimens. In The Anthropologists' Cookbook (1977), Jessica Kuper noted the importance of the pa beuk'' to the Lao people and remarked, "In times gone by, this huge fish, which is found only in the Mekong, was fairly plentiful, but in the last few years, the number taken annually has dwindled to forty, thirty or twenty, and perhaps in 1976 even fewer. This is sad, as it is a noble fish and a mysterious one, revered by the Lao." In 2000, fishermen hauled out 11 giant catfish. In 2001 they caught seven. In 2002 they caught just five. Fishing for the Mekong giant catfish is illegal in the wild in Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia, but the bans appear to be ineffective and the fish continue to be caught in all three countries. In recognition of the threat to the species, though, nearly 60 Thai fishermen agreed to stop catching the endangered catfish in June 2006, to mark the 60th anniversary of Bhumibol Adulyadej's ascension to the throne of Thailand. Thailand is the only country to allow fishing for private stocks of Mekong giant catfish. This helps save the species, as lakes purchase the small fry from the government breeding programme, generating extra income that allows the breeding program to function. Fishing lakes, such as Bueng Samran (บึงสำราญ) in Bangkok, have the species up to . The most common size landed is , although some companies specialise in landing the larger fish. The species needs to reach to breed, and it does not breed in lakes. The Thailand Fisheries Department has instituted a breeding programme to restock the Mekong River. From 2000 to 2003, about 10,000 captive-bred specimens were released by the Thai authorities. Specimens are released into reservoirs rather than the Mekong River itself. The Mekong giant catfish is described as a contemporary example of overharvest. Millions of tons