![]() ![]() The biggest freshwater fish ever caught on rod and reel is a 660 pound female stingray over 13 feet long in Cambodia’s Mekong River. Zeb Hogan, director of the Wonders of the Mekong project, reported, “The Mekong is the only place in the world where these giant fish are found.” However, the Mekong River is also home to giant stingrays. The Mekong River in Cambodia is famous for giant catfish that can grow up to 440 pounds in six years. Where Was the Largest Freshwater Fish Caught? Scientists fear beluga sturgeon are critically endangered. Without further protection and enforcement of existing efforts, one of the largest, most interesting fish in the world could be gone forever. It is highly vulnerable to extinction across its entire range. The beluga sturgeon has limited protection in many areas, but its numbers continue to decrease. It is completely gone from several seas and rivers it used to inhabit. Even though this fish has been given limited legal protection in many areas, its numbers are decreasing everywhere that it lives. It is one of the most valuable fish on earth. One large female beluga sturgeon can carry several hundred pounds of caviar. But, Dr Phaedra Doukakis, a member of IUCN’s Sturgeon Specialist Group, reports, “That even if maximum protections were put in place for wild beluga sturgeon, it would take a long time for younger individuals to mature and reach their maximum lengths”. To combat their extinction, a sustainable farming beluga sturgeon industry has grown up. Caviar lovers prize adult females for their fish eggs, which are sold as caviar and valued at more than $3,500 a pound, according to the IUCN.īeluga Sturgeon have few predators, and humans are their largest threat. Plus, their great size helped them escape predators and afforded them the ability to catch vast amounts of prey.īeluga sturgeon are listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation (IUCN) of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species, the category for species most at risk of extinction. Leonardo Congiu, an associate professor of ecology at the University of Padova in Italy, theorizes that beluga sturgeon survived those millions of years because larger sturgeon individuals had greater reproductive success and large females could generate more eggs. This means they were here with the dinosaurs. ![]() They are among the oldest fish in the world, and we can trace them back 250 million years. Beluga sturgeon grow up to 26 feet long, can weigh over 3,500 pounds, and can live over 100 years.īeluga sturgeon are endemic to and live between Europe and Asia in the Black, Azov, and Caspian seas and the rivers feeding them. Russia’s beluga sturgeon, also known as huso huso, is the biggest freshwater known fish in the world according to the Pan-European Action Plan for Sturgeons. ![]() The biggest freshwater fish caught can possibly outweigh the biggest species of freshwater fish. So if they're fished before they mature, they don't have a chance to reproduce," Zeb Hogan, Wonders of the Mekong leader from the Department of Biology at the University of Nevada in Reno, told NPR.There could be some confusion between the biggest freshwater fish, and the biggest freshwater fish ever caught. Little is known about where and when particular species embark on their treks, but researchers are desperate to find out so they can learn how to protect these environments and, in turn, their inhabitants. Many Mekong fish species take lengthy migrations as part of their life cycles to access different floodplains, deep pools, and flooded forests – which is why the tag recently attached to this big beauty is so important. Under the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the species is considered endangered with extinction after becoming increasingly threatened by pollution, climate change, human development, and overfishing. Like many giant fish of Southeast Asia, the giant freshwater stingray is in trouble. While its sting is covered in toxic mucus that can pierce bone, it’s generally considered to be a gentle giant and rarely attacks humans unprovoked. This colossal species can be found lurking across many of the large rivers and estuaries of Southeast Asia and Borneo.
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