Fishing in particular is extremely important to the local economy. Fishing provides the primary source of meat for these villagers, with fish contributing 56.3 percent of protein to the local diet. The average household consumes 83.2 kg fish protein each year compared to the Laos national average of 8–10 kg /year. Among these households, 50 percent supplement family income by selling fish to traders in their villages. In total villagers harvest more than 55 indigenous species from in the Nam Ngum reservoir annually.