The world’s largest freshwater fish, a 661-pound (300-kg) giant stingray was found in the Mekong River in Cambodia, which weighed in as the largest freshwater fish ever recorded.
The announcement was made by Wonders of the Mekong, the initiative between the University of Nevada Reno’s Global Water Center and the Inland Fisheries Research and Development Institute of Cambodia (IFReDI), with funding from US Agency for International Development (USAID).
The record-breaking stingray, which measured over 13 feet from snout to tail, was hooked by a fisherman south of the town of Stung Treng on June 13, in the middle stretches of the Mekong River, according to Wonders of the Mekong.
The previous record-holder for the world’s largest freshwater fish was a 293-kg Mekong giant catfish caught in Thailand in 2005, it added.
According to the initiative, recognizing the importance of his catch, the Cambodian fisherman quickly contacted a team from the Wonders of the Mekong research project to help release the ray, an endangered species, back into the river.
For the first time ever in Cambodia, the huge ray was fitted with an acoustic tag, the technology that will enable biologists to learn more about the secretive creature’s elusive behavior.
In collaboration with the Cambodian Fisheries Administration, the Wonders of the Mekong project established a network of fishers who agreed to report catches of giant and endangered fish, including stingrays.
Last month, fishermen in the same area reported to the team that they had caught a 400-pound giant female stingray, which the research team then helped release safely into the depths of the river.
“The discovery of this world record stingray indicates the special opportunity we have in Cambodia to protect this species and its core habitat,” said Poum Sotha, director general of the Cambodian Fisheries Administration.
(With inputs from agencies)
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