300-KILOGRAM STINGRAY BREAKS THE FRESHWATER CATCH RECORD
A fisherman in Cambodia landed what turned out to be the largest freshwater fish ever caught. The giant freshwater stingray (Urogymnus polylepis) is more than four meters long and weighed in at a whopping 299.8 kilograms. Despite its massive bulk, little is known about this species of stingray’s habits and behaviour in the wild. Scientists tagged and released the record breaker in order to learn more about its migration patterns and preferred habitats.
The pancake-shaped find has now secured the status of the giant freshwater stingray as the largest known fish in the world, nudging out the Mekong giant catfish (Pangasianodon gigas), the largest of which was a 293-kilogram specimen caught in Thailand in 2005. The giant freshwater stingray also hails from the Mekong River. It was caught on 13
June by a fisherman named Moul Thun in the Stung Treng province of northeastern Cambodia. The next morning, Thun called in researchers from the conservation organisation Wonders of Mekong, which has been working to record and protect giant stingrays in the waterway. The
Mekong is the only place in the world where these giant fish are found.