No Crappie, 660-Pound Cambodian Stingray is World’s Biggest Freshwater Catch

This is the biggest big fish story you’ll hear. It's not like the ones you've heard about the monster that got away. This one is true. It's about a record-breaking, 13-foot, 660-pound (or so), freshwater stingray. It was caught in Cambodia.

You might see the weight of the fish wiggles a bit depending on which article you're reading. The range is from slightly under 660 pounds to 661 pounds. The bottom line: The catch is way above the previous freshwater record-holder. That was a 646-pound catfish caught in 2005 on the same river, the Mekong.

“Yeah, when you see a fish this size, especially in freshwater, it is hard to comprehend, so I think all of our team was stunned,” a biologist leading US government-funded Wonders of the Mekong project (WMP) told The Associated Press (AP).

A local fisherman pulled the giant out of the river on June 13. He reported it to WMP scientists. They rushed to the scene and tagged the fish with a tracking device. They released the stingray so they can monitor it.

The scientists said the ray’s size isn’t what matters most about the find. Rather, it is remarkable that large freshwater fish continue to survive. The river is environmentally threatened. It runs more than 3,000 miles through six Southeast Asian countries. The threats to the Mekong’s ecosystem include habitat fragmentation caused by dozens of dams, overfishing, and pollution.

"The fact that the fish can still get this big is a hopeful sign for the Mekong River,” the scientist told the AP. 

Photo from Reuters.