The "'Boramy' Earns It's Freedom" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading about a fish named "Boramy" or "full moon" that was caught on June 13 in the Mekong River in Cambodia.  It became the world's largest freshwater fish in history to be caught.  It was a stingray that measured almost 13 feet from snout to tail and weighed slightly under 660 pounds.  Can you imagine catching a fish that large.  If it gave a big tug it more than likely would pull you into the water and perhaps into its waiting mouth.  The information about the fish was passed along by Wonders of the Mekong, a joint Cambodian-U.S. research project.  The previously largest fish was a 646 pound Mekong catfish discovered in Thailand in 2005.  I can still remember swimming with rather large sharks in the Bahamas.  

The stingray known as "Boramy"

Catching a huge stingray that weighed over 600 pounds would have to scare the crap out of you, especially if it could wrap itself around you.  The stingray was snagged by a local fisherman south of Stung Treng in northeastern Cambodia.  The fisherman alerted a nearby team of scientists from the Wonders of the Mekong project, which publicizes its conservation work in communities along the river.  Scientists arrived quickly and were amazed at what they saw.  Being caught in freshwater rather than saltwater makes the size of the fish even more amazing.  The size of the fish is a good sign for the Mekong River, since dam building on the river was thought to disrupt spewing grounds.  Big fish naturally are a high-value species.  They take a long time to mature.  A lot are migratory and need large areas to survive.  Fishing has also threatened Mekong species.  The team that made its way to the fishing site inserted a tagging device near its tail before releasing it.  The device will track the giant stingray named "Boramy" meaning "full moon" because of it's shape.  The lucky fisherman who caught the fish was given market rate for his catch which amounted to about $600.  Pretty neat to be able to catch your supper and get paid for it...and then let it go!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.