BANGKOK — The world’s largest recorded freshwater fish, a large stingray, has been caught within the Mekong River in Cambodia, in keeping with scientists from the Southeast Asian nation and the United States.
The stingray, captured on June 13, measured nearly 13 ft from snout to tail and weighed slightly below 660 kilos, in keeping with a press release Monday by Wonders of the Mekong, a joint Cambodian-U.S. analysis mission.
The earlier document for a freshwater fish was a 646-pound Mekong big catfish, found in Thailand in 2005, the group stated.
The stingray was snagged by a neighborhood fisherman south of Stung Treng in northeastern Cambodia. The fisherman alerted a close-by staff of scientists from the Wonders of the Mekong mission, which has publicized its conservation work in communities alongside the river.
The scientists arrived inside hours of getting a post-midnight name with the information, and had been amazed at what they noticed.
“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,” Wonders of the Mekong chief Zeb Hogan stated in a web based interview from the University of Nevada in Reno.
“The fact that the fish can still get this big is a hopeful sign for the Mekong River, ” Hogan stated, noting that the waterway faces many environmental challenges.
Local residents nicknamed the stingray “Boramy,” or “full moon,” due to its spherical form and since the moon was on the horizon when it was freed on June 14. In addition to the glory of getting caught the record-breaker, the fortunate fisherman was compensated at market price, about $600.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”