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Mekong villagers land heaviest ever freshwater fish

Cambodian villagers on the Mekong River have caught what researchers say is the world's biggest freshwater fish ever recorded, a stingray that weighed in at 300kg (661 lb) and took around a dozen men to haul to shore.

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Mekong villagers land heaviest ever freshwater fish

Boramy, netted last week off Koh Preah, an island along the northern Cambodian stretch of the river, took the record from a 293 kg giant catfish that was caught upstream in northern Thailand in 2005.

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Mekong villagers land heaviest ever freshwater fish

The Mekong has the third-most diverse fish population in the world, according to its River Commission, though overfishing, pollution, saltwater intrusion and sediment depletion have caused stocks to plummet.

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Mekong villagers land heaviest ever freshwater fish