Although the mountainous areas of the GMS have high potential for aquaculture farming to increase protein supply and provide additional income for the poor communities, research on upland fisheries has received little attention in comparison to the lowland areas. Maejo University in northern Thailand, The Lao’s Department of Livestock and Fisheries, and the Research Institute for Aquaculture Number 1 in Vietnam have collaborated to investigate the potential of upland fisheries and with participation of the communities, to pilot test the raising of traditional fish varieties in the three target countries.