Fish-spawning grounds and migration corridors make this stretch of the river a natural powerhouse of fish production, generating up to 200 billion fish annually, according to Hogan.

The area is also pivotal for the food security and livelihoods of communities in Cambodia and neighboring countries. In addition to freshwater stingrays, scientists believe this part of the Mekong is a crucial dry-season refuge for other mega fish, including critically endangered Mekong giant catfish and giant barb ( Catlocarpio siamensis). “Together, we all have an important role to play in fisheries monitoring and conservation.” “These successful releases highlight this site as a stingray hotspot and illustrate importance of partnerships with local communities,” Chea Seila, program manager for Wonders of the Mekong, said in a statement. Prior to the latest record-breaking find, a group of fishermen last month reeled in a 180-kg (400-lb) female giant stingray in the same stretch of river. The area, which features pools up to 80 m (260 ft) deep, was last month the focus of an expedition led by the Wonders of the Mekong project in collaboration with the Cambodian Fisheries Administration, the Inland Fisheries Research and Development Institute, and international partners.Īs part of that expedition, a network of local fishers agreed to report any catches of giant and endangered fish to the project team for study and safe release.

The stingray was hooked in Stung Treng province, in a portion of the Mekong known for its diverse underwater habitats and rich potential to support species of both fisheries and conservation importance. Image courtesy of Chhut Chheana / Wonders of the Mekong The 13-foot (4-meter) endangered giant freshwater stingray ( Urogymnus polylepis) was captured in the Mekong River on June 13, 2022. “This is an absolutely astonishing discovery, and justifies efforts to better understand the mysteries surrounding this species and the incredible stretch of river where it lives,” Zeb Hogan, a fish biologist and leader of the USAID-funded Wonders of the Mekong project, said in a statement. Tipping the scales at nearly 300 kilograms (661 pounds), the leviathan ray surpasses the previous record holder, a 293-kg (646-lb) Mekong giant catfish ( Pangasianodon gigas) caught in Thailand in 2005.Įxperts say the find emphasizes what’s at stake in the Mekong, a river that’s facing a slew of development threats, including major hydropower dams that have altered the river’s natural flow and exacerbated low river levels due to dry-season droughts in recent years. The 4-meter (13-foot) endangered giant freshwater stingray ( Urogymnus polylepis) was hauled from the river on June 13 before being measured and released back into the wild. The largest freshwater fish ever recorded was captured in the Mekong River last week by a fisher collaborating with researchers to document the river’s biodiversity in northern Cambodia. “It is a signal to us to protect our rivers and lakes,” they say.

Experts say the find emphasizes what’s at stake in the Mekong, a river that’s facing a slew of development threats, including major hydropower dams that have altered the river’s natural flow.Local fishers collaborating with researchers to document the area’s underwater life alerted a monitoring team who measured the ray, fitted it with an acoustic tag to learn more about its behavior, and facilitated its release back into the wild.The discovery occurred in a stretch of the Mekong known for its diversity of freshwater habitats that support crucial fish-spawning grounds and migration corridors and provide refuges for other mega fish species and threatened species, such as Irrawaddy dolphins and giant softshell turtles.The largest freshwater fish ever recorded was captured last week in Cambodia’s stretch of the Mekong River: a giant freshwater stingray measuring 4 meters (13 feet) from snout to tail and weighing 300 kilograms (661 pounds).

Biggest freshwater fish in the world