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It weighs a full 300 kilograms and is almost four meters long.
- A giant stingray has been caught in the Mekong in northeastern Cambodia.
The animal was caught by a fisherman who then alerted the team of the US-Cambodian "Wonder of the Mekong" research project.
According to the researchers, this is the largest freshwater fish ever discovered.
The record is probably not official.
Something else is actually more important.
Zeb Hogan, fish biologist at the University of Nevada
“It's also very exciting news because it means this stretch of the Mekong is still healthy. We hear a lot of stories about all the troubles with the Mekong, but to have these huge fish still live in the Mekong is actually a sign of hope.”
Large fish are endangered worldwide - fragmentation of their habitats by dams, overfishing or pollution deprive them of spawning grounds and their livelihood.
In addition, there is increasing environmental pollution.
About 70% of the giant freshwater fish are threatened with extinction worldwide.
Zeb Hogan, fish biologist at the University of Nevada
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This largest fish in the world was the first fish the team tagged and released back into the river, meaning we can track its movements for over a year to learn more about stingray life.
Giant freshwater rays are not well studied, we know almost nothing about them, so this is a real chance to learn more about one of the largest freshwater fish in the world
.«
According to the researchers, this is the fourth giant ray found in the area in the last two months, so they suspect a spawning site there.
The ray, nicknamed »Boramy«, which translates as »full moon«, was released back into the river.
