The freshwater fish that now travels around the world were fished up on 14 June in the Mekong River in Cambodia, reports The Independent.
The giant kilo of 300 kilos was caught by a local fisherman.
The stingray has been named Boramy – this is due to its pear-shaped shape. Boramy means “full moon” in the Khmer language, which is Cambodia’s official language, writes CNN.
Around twelve people had to help pull up the record fish.
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The Mekong River is located in Asia and stretches from northern Tibet via China, Myanmar, Laos and Thailand to southern Cambodia and Vietnam, according to Large Norwegian encyclopedia (SNL).
The previous record holder from 2005 weighed 293 kilos and was of the fish species Malle. This was caught in the same river, north of Thailand.
The rock Boramy was picked up from the water on the island of Koh Preah, located on the northern coast of Cambodia.
Zeb Hogan, biologist and leader of the organization Wonders of the Mekong, as well as a professor at the University of Nevada, says that the stingray that was found in June is something out of the ordinary.
“During the 20 years I have researched giant fish in rivers and lakes, on six different continents, this is the largest freshwater fish documented worldwide,” says Hogan, according to The Independent
Furthermore, Hogan, who has also previously led the National Geographic program “Monster Fish”, believes that the discovery is good news for the long river.
– This is also exciting because it means that this stretch of Mekong is still healthy. It is a good sign that these huge fish are still living here.