Giant Stingray in Cambodia Lands Guinness Record as Largest Freshwater Fish Ever Caught

A giant stingray, recorded as the largest freshwater fish, was caught on June 13, by fishermen in the Stung Treng region of northern Cambodia.

The female Urogymnus polylepis giant freshwater stingray weighed about 300 kg and measured 3.98 m in length, tail included. The amazing fish, also called a whipray, was 2.2 meters long.

Largest Freshwater Fish

The record-breaking giant stingray, which belongs to an endangered species, was given the name Boramy because it is Khmer for "full moon," and because of its rounded disc-like shape and the early evening release time.

The measurements were made by a group of international ichthyologists as part of the US-Cambodian "Wonders of the Mekong" project, in cooperation with the Cambodian Fisheries Administration, despite the fact that the discoveries were made by locals.

Dana Lee, a fisheries biologist with FISHBIO, was one of the researchers who assisted in measuring this river monster. According to Lee, it was a magical moment to catch the first glimpse of the enormous stingray as it was being dragged from the depths. He said that in his mind, the Mekong has always been a bit of a mythical place, and that this creature was almost like the river personified.

In addition to hosting the television program Monster Fish, Dr. Zeb Hogan, a specialist in giant fish and director of the "Wonders of the Mekong" initiative, also shared the same sentiment.

Hogan said that this is a remarkable discovery that justifies efforts to learn more about the mysteries surrounding this species and the amazing river stretch where it lives.

Hogan continues to say that although fishermen in Cambodia claim to have encountered stingrays weighing up to 500 kg, these claims have never been confirmed. The fact that the "Wonders of the Mekong" team was nearby, that the fishermen alerted them, and that the stingray was marked and released are all very fortunate.

Previous Gigantic Records

This is not the first world record to come from the enigmatic, uncharted waterways of mainland Southeast Asia.

The previous record-holder for the largest freshwater fish was a 293 kg, 2.7 m-long Mekong giant catfish (Pangasianodon gigas) discovered in another section of the Mekong River in June 2005.

As it is currently too close to call, the Mekong giant catfish and the giant freshwater stingray share the record for largest freshwater fish species.

Other candidates for the record include the dog-eating catfish, also known as the paroon shark, a closely related catfish (Pangasius sanitwongsei).

Outside of Southeast Asia, the arapaima (Arapaima gigas) of South America is thought to grow to a length of up to 4.5 m, which is longer than the Mekong megafish, but weighs only about 200 kg instead.

Change in Record Held

The Chinese paddlefish (Psephurus gladius), a former top contender that was once native to the Yangtze River Basin, reached a confirmed length of 3 meters and a verified weight of 300 kilograms, though much larger, unconfirmed specimens have been reported as long as 7 meters and weighing 450 kilograms.

Nevertheless, this species was formally recognized as extinct in 2020. It is likely that it went extinct between 2005 and 2010 as a result of overfishing and habitat loss. As a result, it currently holds the unfortunate record of being the most recent extinction of freshwater fish.