Boramy Confirmed as World’s Largest Freshwater Fish

Boramy, a giant freshwater stingray (Urogymnus polylepis) discovered, tagged, and released in the Cambodian Mekong River, has been confirmed by the Guinness World Records as the world’s largest fresh water fish.

According to the Guinness World Records, the female giant freshwater stingray weighed approximately 300 kilogrammes (661 lb) – about the same as a typical grizzly bear – and had a total length of 3.98 metres (13 ft) with tail included, making her longer than a pickup truck!

The phenomenal fish, also known as a whipray, spanned 2.2 metres (7 ft 2 in), meaning that if she were placed on a ping-pong table, her outer “wings” would overhang each side by a foot (30 cm).

The record-breaking ray, which is an endangered species, was named Boramy (“full moon” in the Khmer language), owing to both her rounded disc-like shape and the early-evening time of her release.

For Mr. Zeb Hogan, a fish biologist at the University of Nevada, Reno who leads the Wonders of the Mekong, the stingray find is evidence that the natural world can still yield new and extraordinary discoveries, and that many of the largest aquatic creatures remain woefully understudied.

“In 20 years of researching giant fish in rivers and lakes on six continents, this is the largest freshwater fish that we’ve encountered or that’s been documented anywhere worldwide,” Mr. Hogan, who is also the host of National Geographic’s “Monster Fish” television series, said. “This is an absolutely astonishing discovery, and justifies efforts to better understand the mysteries surrounding this species and the incredible stretch of river where it lives.”

The stingray was caught on June 13, 2022 by a fisher south of the town of Stung Treng, in the middle stretches of the Mekong River as it runs through northern Cambodia. Recognising the importance of his catch, the fisher quickly contacted a team from the USAID-funded Wonders of the Mekong research project to help release the ray back into the river.

In collaboration with the Cambodian Fisheries Administration, the Wonders of the Mekong project established a network of fishers who agreed to report catches of giant and endangered fish, including stingrays. Last month, fishers in the same area reported to the team that they had caught a 400-pound giant female stingray, which the research team then helped release safely into the depths of the river.

Freshwater fish are defined as those that have spent their entire lives in freshwater, as opposed to giant marine species like bluefin tuna and marlin, or fish that migrate between fresh and saltwater like the huge beluga sturgeon.

Source: Agency Kampuchea Press