Dr Heng Kong, Director of the Inland Fisheries Research and Development Institute, and Thach Panara, Director of the Laboratory of the Inland Fisheries Research and Development Institute of the Fisheries Administration said, “In Cambodia, we have more than 500 species of freshwater [fish], including 58 species protected by law (29 species of freshwater and 29 species of saltwater), and more than 100 rare fish species.”
The Mekong giant salmon carp (Aaptosyax grypus) was sighted in the Mekong for the first time in two decades. The fish was seen in Stung Treng, the same province where Boremy – a giant freshwater stingray – was caught and crowned the largest freshwater fish ever caught.
“We have not seen the presence of this fish since about 2002, and this is the first time that fishermen have encountered it,” Panara said. The discovery is an indication that the Mekong or Tonle Sap is still home to endangered species, rare fish and other freshwater fish.
Kong Chanthy, head of the fishing community network in Borey O’Svay Senchey District, Stung Treng, told national news that the fish is not frequently encountered and is thus lesser-known.
