The largest freshwater fish ever caught has been caught, then released, in Cambodia’s Mekong River, according to Cambodian and US scientists.
The giant stingray captured on June 13 measured nearly four meters from the tip of its nose to the tip of its tail, and weighed just over 300 kilograms, according to a statement released Monday by the Cambodian-American Research Project Wonders of the Mekong.
The old record for a freshwater fish was a 293-kilogram catfish caught in 2005, also in the Mekong, but this time in Thailand, according to the group.
The stingray was caught by a local fisherman south of Stung Treng in northeast Cambodia. The fisherman informed researchers of Wonders of the Mekong.
The scientists arrived a few hours later and were amazed by what they saw.
” Yeah, when you see a fish that size, especially in freshwater, it’s hard to understand, so I think the whole team was amazed. “
He added that he is auspicious that a fish can still reach this size in the Mekong, since the river faces several environmental threats, such as the construction of a new dam which could harm breeding grounds.
Big fish are endangered around the world. These species have great economic value. They take a long time to mature. So if you catch them before they mature, they don’t have a chance to reproduce, Hogan said. Many of these large fish are migratory, so they need large territories to survive. They suffer from seeing their habitats fragmented, for example by dams, and also, of course, from overfishing. About 70% of the world’s freshwater fish are threatened with extinction, and all species in the Mekong are.
The team that visited the scene tied a small tracking device near the stingray’s tail before releasing it. The device will transmit data for a year, providing data on the behavior of stingrays in central Cambodia.
We have a very poor understanding of the giant stingray. Its name, and even its scientific name, has changed many times over the past 20 years, Hogan said. It is found across Southeast Asia, but almost nothing is known about it. Nothing is known of his life. Nothing is known of its ecology, of its migration.
Researchers say this is the fourth giant stingray reported from the same area in two months. They think it could be a breeding site for the species.
Local residents baptized the stingray boramyfor Full moondue to its round shape and because the moon was floating on the horizon when it was released on June 14.
In addition to the honor of setting a record, the lucky fisherman was compensated according to market value and received the equivalent of US$600.
Associated Press
Source: Radio-Canada
