A group of Cambodian fishermen received a shock after catching a giant freshwater stingray – four metres long and weighing over 180 kg – in their nets while on the Mekong River. The stingray – an endangered species of fish – was released unharmed; a video shared by AFP showed the female leviathan swimming slowly back to the depths of the muddy (and iconic) Mekong.
The stingray was believed to have been caught by mistake – it had swallowed smaller fish that had taken the fishermen’s bait. It was unhooked and released with help from a team of marine experts.
In the video, Elizabeth Everest, a researcher with the Wonders of Mekong project, says: “… we’ve just released our giant stingray back into the wild. As you can see, she’s kind of hanging out on the surface of the river here. It’s amazing to be able to see her swimming around in her natural habitat… and to have participated in the release of this giant stingray today.”
Over 1,000 species of fish call the 4,350 km long Mekong – the longest river in southeast Asia – home, and the stingray is not the only massive creature lurking in its depths. The giant catfish and barb can grow to three metres in length and weigh over 270 kilograms!
“They are unseen worlds, underappreciated and out of sight,” Zeb Hogan, a fish biologist from the University of Nevada, was quoted by AFP.
Environmentalists have long voiced concerns about dam building along the Mekong that will destroy fish stocks. They’ve also warned about the build-up of plastic waste on the river’s surface and even in some of its deepest parts, as well as ‘ghost nets’ – abandoned nets that still catch and kill fish.
The Mekong is one of the world’s most famous waterways – it starts in China and twists south through parts of Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam – feeding 60 million people through its basin and tributaries.
With input from AFP
