Fishermen show their catch of the day in Maubin township in Ayeyarwady Division. Some blame overfishing for the disappearance of "pilgrim fish" from Kyaung Taw Yar Pagoda. Pic: AFP/ Khin Maung Win

EVERY July at the start of Buddhist Lent for as long as anyone can remember, giant catfish have made the journey up a tributary of Myanmar’s mighty Ayeyarwady River to a historic temple.

Devotees at the temple call them “pilgrim fish” and believe the creatures come to show their respect for the Buddha at a time meant to inspire religious contemplation.

Their feeding area around the Kyaung Taw Yar Pagoda in central Myanmar is considered holy ground and the fish are believed to have been coming since Buddha was alive 2500 years ago.

In more recent memory, postcards and photos from 20 years ago show children at the pagoda playing with – and even sitting on – the fish, which can grow to 150 centimetres (60 inches) long.

But only two pilgrim fish were seen at the temple last year and as Buddhist Lent approaches on July 29, many people are starting to worry that this year the fish may not show up at all.

“The Mone Creek was full of fish about 20 years ago,” said Kyi Soe, one of the pagoda’s trustees, as he held up an old photograph of himself with his arms wrapped around one of the massive fish.

This particular species of giant catfish, which is found in parts of South and Central Asia, is called rita rita. It reproduces slowly and its habitat has come under pressure from increased fishing and the building of a series of new dams on the Ayeyarwady and its tributaries, experts say.

At the request of the pagoda’s trustees, Myanmar fisheries officials last year conducted a study of the Mone Creek but found little evidence of pollution that could be harming the catfish.

Dams and improved fishing techniques, however, may be taking a toll on the giant catfish.

“The modern fishing industry is commercialised for overseas export and furnished with advanced fishing equipment,” said Myo Myint Tun, a depot owner who has fishing rights to a four-kilometre (2.5-mile) stretch of the Ayeyarwady.

“Now we use three-layered nets that can catch fish of any size, big or small. People also use electronic devices and poison for mass fishing,” he said.

“We don’t want to see the pilgrim fish become extinct. Conservation of the fish is urgently needed.”