Scientist’s Quest for ‘Megafish’ Leads Him to Giant Freshwater Stingray

Rushing across a temple parking lot, British angler Rick Humphreys yells, "We've got a fish."

It finally is brought to the surface, revealing its big bulging eyes and dark, coarse skin. Its tail alone is 12 feet long.

Hogan says catching such a big ray so close to a big city is a sign the species is thriving despite pollution. He is awaiting government permission to launch a two-year study to catch and tag 20 or 30 more rays to better understand their movements.

With that data, Hogan is hoping to do what he has done for the Mekong giant catfish, once almost fished to extinction. Hogan's work helped establish its endangered status and prompted authorities in Laos and Thailand to limit total catches to four a year

source

That is one giant ray. The article states they can get to be over 1100 lbs. and 14 ft. wide. Awesome.

Very intesting article. My only question is did he catch and release? The article didnt mention if the one pictured survived the encounter. I'm guessing based on the pic that they kept it alive?

Holy shoot that thing is huge.I would love to know what pound test he used.Btw yeah the Black Manta gets over 20 feet across.

are those the 'stab you in the heart and kill ya' kinda stingrays??
Was it this kind of ray that took out Bindy's Dad?

Not the same kind but in the same species.I think they could sting you.

I hope he didn't kill it, why would you kill such a magnificent creature.
It looks like hes trying to float it.If he wanted to kill it he would just slap a hook in it and winch it up on a crane.So hopefully he just wanted to take some photo's and let it go.

[edit on 20/7/08 by Being_From_Earth]

reply to post by Icarus Rising


Wow! I've dived/snorkeled with some fairly large rays before, but that thing is huge! Very cool find

On TV it was clearyl shown that Mr Ray was released! Brits have a reputation for putting back what they take!!

reply to post by theRiverGoddess

The crew scrambles to.....wrap a towel around its.....tail that has a venomous barb.

Yes, apparently the tail has a venomous barb on it.

reply to post by alienstar


I'm curious too about what test line was used. Had to be heavy and lots of it I'd assume.

I've seen video of my brother diving with the big mantas off Hawaii. Awesome.

What is the point of catching a fish, just to toss it back? I mean, now this poor thing has a sharp cut from the hook, just so someone can have bragging rights?? That seems so mean.

Never mind, I guess it was for scientific research. It still seems mean, but I am not a fisherwoman either.

[edit on 20-7-2008 by hotbakedtater]

Thanks for the info...kinda thought it was...Steve got hit with a pretty big stingray but nothing of this size.I bet this sucker would go through 4 people.

reply to post by hotbakedtater


Yeah, the guy is studying the rays and the effect pollution in the river is having on their numbers. He's trying to draw attention in order to protect them.

reply to post by alienstar


I wasn't even aware there were freshwater stingrays. Not to mention giant ones like this.

reply to post by Icarus Rising


That is sooo big!!!

I also hope that it was released alive. A nice thought anyway.

Makes me wonder what really is down there in the depths of the oceans. They say fish never stop growing, so who knows how big they can get.

That thing is really cool.

The Fishsiam Ltd team in Thailand has recently fished with Dr.Zeb Hogan and the Megafish project.
In a two week period we landed 16 Giant freshwater stingray from both the Ban Pakong and Maeklong Rivers.
Whilst filming a documentary we captured a massive Giant freshwater stingray which was estimated to weigh between 265-350kg's.
The Fishsiam team is engaged in a research program to study Giant freshwater stingray populations in both rivers.
Various fish were tagged during the expedition before being safely released back to the river.

www.fishsiam.com...

We were sailing on Hickam Harbor one day, which is a very protected harbor with reef all around it, and one channel in and out, and a Manta Ray that was probably a good 10-12 feet across jumped. I was the only one that saw it, and we were a good distance away so it was hard to judge, but it was huge. It was by far the biggest Manta Ray that I had ever seen.

I live in Central Illinois, and when I was a kid, we were shooting our BB guns near a creek and a I saw a small freshwater stingray. It scared the crap out of me, because I almost stepped on it. I will never forget it. It wasn't very big, but it was a stingray, and it looked like a very small version of what this guy caught. I have no idea how it got in a creek in Cornland Illinois, but it was there, and I will always remember that.