A handful of giant stingrays have already been seen in the area this year, leading researchers to believe the spot could be a popular spawning location. In fact, the Mekong River is home to many of the world’s largest freshwater fish: giant freshwater stingray, giant barb, giant pangasius, seven-striped bard, giant wallago catfish, and goonch catfish.” The area is also home to freshwater dolphins and giant soft-shell turtles. So, historically, the Mekong has been a great place to be a big fish. “Over two million tons of fish are harvested from the Mekong River each year. “The Mekong is one of the largest and most productive rivers in the world,” Hogan explains. When the fisherman-who was financially compensated at market rate for his catch, even though the fish went back into the river-saw what he’d pulled in from the river, he contacted scientists with the project, who documented the fish and tagged it with a tracking device before it was released back into the waterway in order to study it.īut getting so large was more a product of space and food access than anything else. Agency for International Development, has partnered with the Cambodian Fishers Administration and worked with local communities to improve conservation efforts along the river. The Wonders of the Mekong project, funded by the U.S. Hogan says giant stingray populations have declined in other regions of southeast Asia more heavily impacted by pollution, dams, and overfishing. Zeb Hogan, Ph.D., a research biologist at the University of Nevada, Reno and director of the Wonders of Mekong project, tells Popular Mechanics that finding a fish of this size offers “an indication that this stretch of the Mekong River, the longest remaining free-flowing section, is still relatively healthy.” Let’s nerd out over them together-join Pop Mech Pro. But how did these fish become so huge in the first place? □ You love weird animals. The stingray-which researchers with the Wonders of the Mekong conservation project saved-beat out the previous freshwater record-holder, a 646-pound catfish found in Thailand in 2005, also in the Mekong River. Earlier this month, a local fisherman caught the beast in the Mekong River, located in northeastern Cambodia. Now, familiarize yourself with the new record-holder in the largest freshwater fish category: a giant stingray that measures about 13 feet long and weighs 660 pounds. If you’re a fan of giant fish, you already know about the Mekong River.
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