Giant stingray rescued in Mekong River

STORY: Locator: Stung Treng, Cambodia

Local fishermen got a surprise

catch of the day

A 400 pounds, 13 feet stingray was

caught in the upper Cambodia Mekong

Fishermen and scientists rescued it

from a net and set it free

[Zeb Hogan, Fish Biologist, University of Nevada]

“This catch was significant because it confirms the existence of these big fish in the stretch of river. This is a very remote stretch of river, it’s not well studied, it’s incredibly important for fisheries and biodiversity, and it’s also a stretch of river that is under threat. There has been some dams proposed recently for this area and those dams would have devastating environmental consequences to freshwater fish like the giant stingray.”

The upper Cambodian Mekong is

vital for marine life

Scientists are worried about overfishing,

as well as plastic waste

[Zeb Hogan, Fish Biologist, University of Nevada]

“And this area is also an incredibly important spawning ground. Historically, this section of river produced 200 billion young fish that then during the floods season disperse throughout all of Cambodia and even into Vietnam. So, this one stretch of river is providing food not only for Cambodia, Cambodians throughout the lower floodplain of the Cambodian Mekong near Phnom Penh - the Tonle Sap Lake - and also down into the Delta in Vietnam.”