Reno Reporter

Fisherman near Koh Preah village in the central part of the Mekong River caught an endangered stingray, according to a news release shared by the University of Nevada, Reno.

The university reported that the fishermen were able to reel in a 400-pound, 13-foot-long giant freshwater stingray earlier this month.

“The fishers here tell stories of catching record-breaking stingrays and other giant fish,” said Zeb Hogan, College of Science fish biologist and project lead of the USAID-funded Wonders of the Mekong project, in the release. “It's a true wonder that a place like this still exists.”

According to the release, scientists have pieced together that that area where the stingray was captured was remote, home to freshwater ponds that are as deep as 260 feet, which is ideal for Irrawaddy dolphins, giant softshell turtles and possibly the biggest freshwater fish on the globe.  

“The deep pool inventory is one of many Wonders of the Mekong activities that highlights the importance of a healthy, connected river, and the people, fisheries, wildlife and water quality that aquatic ecosystems support,” said Chea Seila, program manager for Wonders of the Mekong, said. "The cooperative project with USAID and local organizations are working with communities who want to protect the river and build more resilient communities threatened by upstream dams and proposed new dams in the area."

Stingrays are not seen by the natives as an adequate food source and typically get caught by accident, according to the release. While the stingray did possess a serrated stinger that was roughly 15 inches long, the animal is known to be curious and not menacing.

Chhut Chheana, communications coordinator at the Wonders of the Mekong project, said: "Through our project conservation activities, the villagers, including old and young people, can see with their own eyes the stingray swam back into the river. To me, this is the beginning of conservation activities and knowledge that comes to villagers' minds as they have never gotten it before. And this scene of conservation activities will stick in their mind forever, and the younger generation will join the conservation activities as volunteers, I hope."