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A Lao boy looks at Siamese Mud Carps (Henicorhynchus siamensis) in their floating net (where they are kept as fresh fish gets higher prices on the market) on the Mekong River near Si Phan Don (Four Thousand Islands) in Southern Laos. The riverbanks of several channels of the Mekong play host to a frenzy of activity as huge number of tiny fish make their annual migration to the upper Mekong in January. Fishermen rush to catch, dry and prepare the Siamese mud carp into a pungent to make enough pradaek. Pradaek or fish cheese is a crushed brown paste of fish, salted and fermented. It is eaten at practically every meal in Laos. It is an acquired taste, with a strong aroma that permeates everything it touches. The Mekong River basin supports one of the most diverse fish faunas in the world. As of March 1999, 192 fish species had been identified in the Khong District. Many species seasonally migrate long distances up the Mekong River, from as far away as the Tonle Sap lake in Cambodia and the South China Sea in Vietnam. Locals benefit from fishing and irrigation for farm use. Here, communities tend to be self-sufficient, growing most of their own rice, sugar cane, coconut and vegetables, harvesting fish from the river and weaving textiles as needed. According to a local saying, "if people of Si Phan Don want to eat fish, they just make fire and prepare the pot, fish will jump into it." Up until the early 1960s, fishing practices in Khong were largely traditional, conducted almost entirely for subsistence purposes, with the exception of a small amount for barter trade. However, with the booming economy and development, they are faced with an uncertain future. Today fishing is no more for domestic consumption, as most of the Mekong fish are exported to Thailand where they will fetch a better price. Overfishing and illegal fishing in Laos and Cambodia, as well as dams, navigation projects, and habitat destruction also threaten the number of fish.