A fisher in Cambodia has caught what scientists say is the world’s largest recorded freshwater fish, a giant stingray.
Captured on June 13, the stingray measured almost four metres (13 feet) from snout to tail and weighed slightly less than 300kg (660lbs), 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 293-kg (646-lb) Mekong giant catfish, discovered in Thailand in 2005, the group said.
Christened “Boramy”- meaning the full moon in the Khmer language – because of her bulbous shape, the stingray was caught south of Stung Treng on the Mekong River in northeastern Cambodia. It took about a dozen men to haul the fish ashore.
They alerted a nearby 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.
