An Giang Fisherman Catches a 230 kg Mekong Giant Catfish

A Cham man from An Phu district, An Giang recently caught a Mekong giant catfish weighing a whopping 230 kg. Right after landing this "monster" fish, he sold it to a trader for 200,000 VND/kg.

On December 23, Mr. Tran Chau Phuong Tuan, Deputy Head of the An Giang Fisheries Sub-Department, confirmed that a local fisherman had just caught a Mekong giant catfish weighing over 230 kg in the upper reaches of the Hau River. However, the man immediately weighed and sold it to a trader or restaurant, who took it elsewhere to be sold.

According to initial reports, at around 4 pm on December 21, Mr. Salyman (of the Cham ethnic group, living in Nhon Hoi commune, An Phu district, An Giang province) went fishing as usual in the upper Hau River, where Long Binh town (An Phu district) borders Cambodia's Bassac River. 

The fishermen spotted a very large fish surfacing several times but couldn't tell what kind it was, so they surrounded it with a wedge net with 3 cm mesh (an encircling net). 

Right after catching it and identifying it as a rare Mekong giant catfish, Mr. Salyman brought it back to his village at around 10 pm that day and called a trader, who weighed it at over 230 kg and bought it for 200,000 VND/kg.

The Mekong giant catfish (scientific name Pangasianodon gigas) is a freshwater fish that lives in the lower Mekong River. Reaching up to 3 meters long and up to 300 kg, it is considered the largest known freshwater fish in the world. The species is listed in the Vietnam Red Data Book and the IUCN Red List as critically endangered (at extremely high risk of extinction in the wild).

Source: Dân Trí