Massive Stingray Caught in Cambodia Becomes the World's Largest Freshwater Fish Ever Recorded

Giovana Gelhoren
·2 min read
Massive Stingray Caught in Cambodia Becomes the World's Largest Freshwater Fish Ever Recorded

Villagers in Cambodia recently reeled in the world's largest freshwater fish on record: a 661 pound, 13 feet wide stingray.

First hooked by local fisherman Moul Thun, the massive creature was caught last Monday off the edge of Koh Preah, an island on Mekong River in Cambodia, National Geographic and CNN reported. After finding the stingray, Thun contacted Wonders of the Mekong, a conservation project on the river.

According to CNN, and as seen in photos of the moment, over a dozen men were needed to bring the huge sea creature to shore. The stingray was later named Boramy, meaning "full moon" in the Khmer language, as inspired by its large, round shape.

After being weighed and assessed, Boramy was electronically tagged for monitoring and returned to the river.

This handout photo taken on June 14, 2022 and released on June 20 by the US-funded Wonders of the Mekong project shows a 661 pound (300kg) giant freshwater stingray that was caught and released in the Mekong river in Cambodia's Stung Treng province. - A fisherman on the Mekong river in Cambodia has hooked the biggest freshwater fish ever recorded, scientists said June 20 -- a 300-kilogram stingray.

Wonders of the Mekong/AFP via Getty Images

RELATED: Sharkfest Is Coming Back This Summer to Celebrate 10 Years of Fins and Fun

The catch was said to be 17 years in the making for biologist Zeb Hogan. The former host of Monster Fish had been searching for the world's largest freshwater fish for over a decade, The New York Times reported.

"This is very exciting news because it was the world's largest (freshwater) fish," said Hogan, who is involved in the Wonders of the Mekong project, to CNN.

"It is also exciting news because it means that this stretch of the Mekong is still healthy… It is a sign of hope that these huge fish still live [here]," he added.

This handout photo taken on June 14, 2022 and released on June 20 by the US-funded Wonders of the Mekong project shows a 661 pound (300kg) giant freshwater stingray that was caught and released in the Mekong river in Cambodia's Stung Treng province. - A fisherman on the Mekong river in Cambodia has hooked the biggest freshwater fish ever recorded, scientists said June 20 -- a 300-kilogram stingray.

Wonders of the Mekong/AFP via Getty Images

RELATED: Beefcake, One of the World's Oldest Bison, Dies at Wisconsin Zoo Days Before His 25th Birthday

Beramy took the record for heaviest freshwater fish from a catfish caught in 2005. The previous record-holder weighed 645-pound, per the Times.

The Mekong River has the third-most diverse fish population in the world with about 1,148 documented fish species, the Mekong River Commission reports, and over 2.3 million tons of fish are caught there each year.