BANGKOK — A man in Cambodia caught the world’s largest recorded freshwater fish, a giant stingray, last week.
The Associated Press said a giant stingray caught on June 13 in the Mekong River in Cambodia was 13 feet from snout to tail and weighed about 660 pounds per a statement from Wonders of the Mekong (WOM).
The previous record for a freshwater fish was about 646 pounds, a giant catfish found in Thailand in 2005, according to the AP. Within hours, WOM arrived in the area to see the stingray up close.
The New York Times said the team lined up three industrial scales, and by using a tarp, were able to get the stingray out of the water to weigh it. One of the team members put an acoustic tag on the stingray to be able to track it for the next year.
Researchers said this giant stingray is the fourth one reported in the same area in the last two months, and all of them have been females, according to the AP. Locals nicknamed the giant stingray “Boramy,” which means full moon because of its shape.
According to the AP, “Freshwater fish are defined as those that spend their entire lives in freshwater, as opposed to giant marine species such as bluefin tuna and marlin, or fish that migrate between fresh and saltwater like the huge beluga sturgeon.”
WOM, a research project between Cambodia and the United States, said in a statement that the man who caught the stingray contacted them. The NYT said WOM works to protect the Southeast Asian river’s aquatic diversity.
The NYT said the giant stingray species is very dangerous. Their venomous barb is about a foot long. However, they are not usually a threat to humans.
The AP said the giant stingray was released the following day on June 14. The man who caught the stingray was given $600 for the honor of catching it.
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