A Cambodian fisherman has caught the largest freshwater fish ever measured in the Mekong – a giant stingray, four meters long and weighing 300 kilograms. The US-funded research project “Wonders of the Mekong” spoke on Tuesday of an “absolutely amazing discovery”.

The female, christened Boramy-Khmer for full moon because of its shape, was fitted with a location transmitter for research purposes and then released again.

In 20 years of research on six continents, it is “the largest freshwater fish ever documented in the world,” said fish biologist and project leader Zeb Hogan. According to the researchers, the stingray was caught last week in northern Cambodia’s Stung Treng province.

The giant fish replaces the previous record holder, a 293-kilogram Mekong giant catfish caught in Thailand in 2005.

More than a thousand different species of fish live in the Mekong, the longest river in Southeast Asia at 4,350 kilometers. The giant stingray isn’t the only giant that makes its home in the muddy waters – the giant catfish and giant barbel also found there can grow up to three meters long and weigh up to 270 kilograms.