
A fisherman in Cambodia snagged the rights to a real fish story final week, touchdown what turned out to be the biggest freshwater fish ever caught.
The enormous freshwater stingray (Urogymnus polylepis) is greater than 13 toes (4 meters) lengthy and weighed in at a whopping 661 kilos (299.8 kilograms). Regardless of its large bulk, little is understood about this species of stingray’s habits and conduct within the wild. Scientists tagged and launched the record-breaker in an effort to study extra about its migration patterns and most popular habitats.
The flapjack-shaped discover has now secured the standing of the enormous freshwater stingray as the biggest recognized fish on this planet, nudging out the Mekong big catfish (Pangasianodon gigas), the biggest of which was a 646-pound (293 kg) specimen caught in Thailand in 2005.
The enormous freshwater stingray additionally hails from the Mekong River. It was caught on June 13 by a fisher named Moul Thun within the Stung Treng province in northeastern Cambodia, in response to NBC. The following morning, Thun known as in researchers from the conservation group Wonders of Mekong, which has been working to document and shield big stingrays within the waterway. The Mekong is the one place on this planet the place these big fish are discovered, Zeb Hogan, director of the Wonders of the Mekong undertaking and a analysis affiliate professor on the College of Nevada in Reno, advised NBC.
“It’s a very wholesome stretch of the river with plenty of deep swimming pools — swimming pools as much as 90 meters [295 feet] deep,” stated Hogan, a fish biologist who hosts Nationwide Geographic’s “Monster Fish” tv sequence. “We began specializing in this space as a stretch of river that’s notably essential for biodiversity and fisheries, and as a final refuge for these huge species.”
That is the third big stingray catch-and-release of the final two months, in response to NBC. All three stingrays, together with a 397-pounder (180 kg) caught in Might, had been feminine, elevating the chance that this stretch of river is likely to be a nursery the place stingrays go to put eggs and lift younger.
Wonders of Mekong pays fishers market worth for his or her launched catches. The researchers additionally tagged this stingray with an acoustic transmitter that can assist the scientists preserve tabs on the monster fish for a full yr. Hydroelectric improvement tasks could also be in retailer for areas alongside the Mekong, Hogan advised NBC, and studying in regards to the fish’s migratory wants is essential to make sure that any future tasks do not threaten the stingrays. To that finish, the researchers plan to tag and launch a number of hundred giant Mekong River fish.
“That is going to permit us that first, form of empirical knowledge to achieve that details about these particular person migratory patterns of fish,” Hogan stated in a video launched by Wonders of Mekong. “So, to achieve that details about people, that is going to be actually crucial to advertise the conservation of the species.”
Initially revealed on Reside Science
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