Giant stingray
“Miracle of the Mekong”: Researchers net the world’s largest freshwater fish
STORY: This ray is flat, but weighs around 300 kilos and is 3.90 meters long. Fischer had already caught the sweet dweller here in the Mekong in Cambodia on June 14th. Researchers fitted him with a tracking device and finally released the animal. According to scientists from the Miracle of the Mekong project, it is the “largest freshwater fish” ever caught. “It’s very exciting news, also because it means that this stretch of the Mekong is still healthy. We hear a lot of stories about the Mekong’s problems, but this is a sign of hope,” said Zeb Hogan, a fish biologist at the university of Nevada and leader of the research team involved. The record also surpassed that of a 293-kilogram Mekong giant catfish caught in northern Thailand in 2005 and then eaten. The team christened the freshwater stingray “Boramy”, which translated from the Khmer language means something like “full moon”. According to the researchers, the specimen caught last week was a female. The Mekong region is threatened by “significant ecological impacts,” the expedition team said in a statement. The plan is to build several hydroelectric power plants in the Cambodian part of the river. This could have devastating effects on biodiversity. The experts also pointed to other problems, such as illegal overfishing and plastic waste. The size of the ray is impressive. However, its relatives in salt water can become much larger. The manta ray is between five and nine meters and weighs up to three tons.
Cambodian fishermen have caught a 300-pound giant freshwater stingray. Researchers christened the animal “Boramy”, provided it with a tracking device – and released it again.
A fisherman has caught the world’s largest freshwater fish ever recorded in the Mekong River in Cambodia. The animal is a giant freshwater stingray that is almost four meters long and weighs almost 300 kilograms, according to the US-Cambodian research project “Wonders of the Mekong”. The female was caught on June 13 in the northeast of the country.
Giant stingray beats giant catfish
The previous record was held by a 293-kilo Mekong giant catfish that was caught in northern Thailand in 2005. The latest find left the team from “Wonders of the Mekong” speechless, quoted the head of the research project, Zeb Hogan, as the magazine “National Geographic”. The University of Nevada expert has been documenting large freshwater fish for nearly two decades. The catch gives new hope, he emphasized: “It proves that these acutely endangered underwater giants still exist.”
Record fish is not eaten
Unlike the giant catfish in Thailand, the giant ray was not killed and eaten, but released back into the wild equipped with an acoustic tracking device. “When the stingray passes through our network of 36 recipients, we can collect data on its migration and behavior for the first time,” the statement said. The fish was christened “Boramy”, which means “full moon” in Khmer – because not only is its body shape round, but it was also released back into the Mekong during the recent full moon. In Cambodia, the term is also used for beautiful women.
Scientists have hope again
“When people see these animals exist and realize how incredible they are, they get inspired,” Hogan said. “The fish that broke the record in 2005 was killed and its meat sold.” The new record holder, on the other hand, will be observed by scientists on her journey through the river. “It’s such a contrast. It means all is not lost.”