Background Pangasius hypophthalmus is one of the major fish species in the Mekong River fishery, one of the largest and most important inland fisheries in the world. The traditional development of capture-based aquaculture for this species, particularly in Viet Nam and to a lesser extent in Thailand and Cambodia, probably began because it is a prolific spawner, producing relatively large numbers of larvae that are easily harvested from the flowing river. Pangasius Simply Good Main producer countries The map shown below, is the output of the FAO statistics for Pangasius hypophthalmus producers countries. However, this does not present the whole story, since Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Bangladesh, China, and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic are also producers but do not report them separately.   Main producer countries of Pangasius hypophthalmus (FAO Fishery Statistics, 2006) Habitat and biology Originally known as Pangasius sutchii or Pangasius hypophthalmus, this riverine freshwater species is limited to the Mekong River, the Chaopraya River and possibly the Mekong basins in Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Thailand and Viet Nam, together with the Ayeyawady basin of Myanmar, within a range of 19 °N to 8 °N. The species has a variety of common English names including Sutchi catfish, iridescent shark-catfish, and striped catfish.