Fish Conservation Zone at At district, Houaphane province
In upcoming Lao New Year is a special occasion and if you don’t have any plan yet, vising the Meuang Aet Water Conservation and Ecotourism Area (WCEA) in Houaphan province could be promising destination. place that you should visit.
The Mueng Aet (WCEA) was established in 2008 and initially supported by the Poverty Alleviation Fund (PRF) project. Since 2012 by the Initiative Agrobiodiversity Project (TABI) has been further developing the huge potential of the site.
The conservation area covers 700 m2 x 115m2 and shelters a great diversity of native fish species. There are more than 10 fish species e.g Bagarius yarrelli, Leptobarbus, Hypsibarbus vernayi, Thynnichthys thynnoides, Bengal swamp eel, carp, Naked catfishes, walking catfishes, Grass carp and current research is expected to inventory other. The density of the fish population is approximately 11-12 fishes per square meter, Leptobarbus is both the most numerous fishes in the WCEA; the heaviest fish and weighs up to 8-9kg. while the smaller around 0.5 kg-9 kg.
The highlight of this fish conservation zone lies in the fact that its surrounded by plants and trees and has a good and fresh atmosphere trough out the year. There are amazing spots for taking pictures and visitors can contribute to conservation by releasing fish species the river.
The AouAet riverside bridge is a nice spot where visitors can observe shoals of fish, in particular in the fish breeding season. This place provides benefits to the local community as being a market of agriculture products, selling local foods and fruits. In the future provincial authorities will develop this ecotourism place as a district hotspot with more agriculture products, indigenous fruit species, stalls, shops and other facilities by the involvement of local entrepreneur and private investors.