Weighing 300 kilograms and measuring nearly four meters, the largest freshwater stingray ever recorded in history was caught in Cambodia. This information was released by the Wonders of the Mekong Project, which is responsible for cataloging this type of species today. Fishing, in turn, took place on the 13th.
According to National Geographic, the animal was caught by 42-year-old fisherman Maul Thun, who lives on the remote island of Koh Preah on the banks of the Mekong River.
The man launched the Wonders of the Mekong Project, a partnership between officials and experts from the Asian country along with American scientists.
After the stingray was measured and weighed, it was returned to the wild with a tracker, which would record all of its movements and help experts better understand the behavior of the species’ animals in the region.
The fisherman responsible for the catch won a reward of US $ 600 (about R $ 3.1 thousand). Although the animal was captured with the help of a hook, it was in good health before being released.
Before the stingray was caught last week, the largest freshwater fish ever caught in the world was also found in Cambodia. In 2005, a giant catfish weighing 293 kg was found in the same river.
“The capture shows how little we know about these giant freshwater fish,” researcher Zeb Hogan from the University of Nevada told NBC Enres.
