Giant stingray snagged by local fisher in Mekong River weighs nearly 300kg

 

The world’s largest recorded freshwater fish, a giant stingray, has been caught in the Mekong River in Cambodia, according to scientists. The stingray, captured on 13 June, measured almost four metres from snout to tail and weighed just under 300kg, according to a statement on Monday by Wonders of the Mekong, a joint Cambodian-US research project.

 

The previous record for a freshwater fish was a 293kg Mekong giant catfish discovered in Thailand in 2005, the group said. The stingray was snagged by a local fisher south of Stung Treng in north-east Cambodia. The fisher alerted a team of scientists from the Wonders of the Mekong project, which has publicised its conservation work in communities along the river.

 

The scientists arrived within hours of getting a post-midnight call with the news, and were amazed at what they saw. “Yeah, when you see a fish this size, especially in freshwater, it is hard to comprehend, so I think all of our team was stunned,” said the Wonders of the Mekong leader, Zeb Hogan.

 

read more https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jun/20/largest-freshwater-fish-ever-recorded-caught-in-cambodia

 

Hopefully it was put back in to the water?