Giant Freshwater Stingray Caught in Thailand

February 2008. One of our readers has sent in this photo of an enormous & rare Giant freshwater stingray caught in December 2007. The monster ray was caught in the Ban Pakong River 80 kms east of Bangkok. The fish was captured by Tom Parker from Coventry whilst fishing on a fishsiam.com guided freshwater angling expedition. The immense size of the fish made it impossible to weigh. With a wingspan of 2.4m the giant ray was estimated to weigh in the region of 170-200kgs.

The capture was made in the lower tidal reaches near Chachoengsao and took almost an hour to land. The fish was released after capture.

12 Specimens of the IUCN Listed Ray were Caught
Amazingly, 12 different specimens of this species have been caught in the last 3-4 months from 2 different rivers, the Ban Pakong and Maeklong Rivers. One of these captures may well have been a newborn of just 12cms in size caught from the Maeklong River. This is a good sign for this river which has been affected by pollution in previous years and also a good sign for this elusive and nomadic species.

More Information Required
With very little written or documented about this species Rick Humphreys (fishsiam.com) is very interested in any information concerning this mighty species. If you know more about this species, or would like to contact Rick about the conservation of this mighty fish, please email us by clicking here and we will forward it onto Rick.

This 130 kilogram Giant freshwater stingray was caught in February 2008 on a fishsiam.com expedition to the Ban Pakong River.

Further Information Received About the Giant Freshwater Stingray

Dr Terry Bertozi, of the Evolutionary Biology Unit of the South Australian Museum in Adelaide, Australia, contacted Wildlife Extra concerning these amazing stingrays, and is now working with FishSiam on a small research project to determine whether these are the same species of stingray found in the rivers of Northern Australia.

Dr Bertozi writes:-

I believe that the scientific name currently attributed to that stingray is Himantura chaophraya. We apparently have that species in northern Australia but there is some disagreement on whether it is the same or a related species. I am working on a genetic study of the relationships between major stingray groups from around the world and was wondering if it would be possible to get a genetic sample from one of these rays (when another is caught)to add to my study. I already have samples from three rivers in northern Australia so it should be an easy matter to finally determine whether they are the same species.

This fish was captured from the same stretch of the Maeklong River in 2005 and was safely released after capture. It weighed an extraordinary 230 kilograms, and it is believed that this is the largest specimen ever landed on rod and line!