Giant endangered freshwater stingray rescued by scientists

A crew of marine biologists has welcomed the invention of an endangered large freshwater stingray throughout a latest expedition to a distant stretch of the Mekong River in Cambodia, although they warned the biodiversity of the world was below risk.

The stingray was by accident caught by fishermen in an 80-metre-deep pool within the Mekong in Cambodia’s northeastern Stung Treng province, and the visiting scientists helped return the animal alive.

Zeb Hogan, a fish biologist on the College of Nevada, mentioned discovering the 180-kilogram stingray, spanning 4 metres, was vital.

“This catch was vital as a result of it confirms the existence of those huge fish within the stretch of river,” mentioned Hogan, who led the USAID-funded Wonders of the Mekong expedition that wrapped up final week.

“It is a very distant stretch of river, it isn’t well-studied, it is extremely vital for fisheries and biodiversity, and it is also a stretch of river that’s below risk,” he mentioned.

The crew used unmanned submersibles outfitted with lights and cameras as a part of its efforts to check the deep swimming pools within the space.

This a part of the river may undergo “devastating ecological results” if proposed hydropower dams go forward within the space, a press release from the expedition crew mentioned. Different threats embody unlawful fishing and plastic waste.

Hogan, who’s been finding out the biodiversity within the Mekong for greater than twenty years, mentioned the declining inhabitants of some freshwater fish within the river was very worrying.

“Traditionally, this part of river produced 200 billion younger fish that then throughout the floods season disperse all through all of Cambodia and even into Vietnam,” Hogan mentioned.