Last weekend, a Vinh Long fisherman coaxed a 128kg Giant Barb fish out of the Mekong River, nearly 10 times bigger than any fish he had ever previously caught.
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Nguyen Van Minh initially assumed his net had caught onto a tree trunk but quickly realized that he had caught one of Vietnam’s largest (and endangered) fish species, reports DTI News.
Upon bringing his catch to shore, locals gathered at Minh’s house and a restaurateur purchased the fish for VND162 million ($7,710). The poor fisherman said that he would use the cash to buy a new net and repay his debts.
The Giant Barb, aka the Siamese giant carp, can only be found in the Mae Klong, Mekong and Chao Phraya river basins and is “critically endangered” due to overfishing and habitat loss.
Though stories of giant fish being pulled from the waters of the Mekong are not uncommon, this may soon change.
The entire Mekong Delta is threatened by upstream dams which experts say could destroy both the region’s wildlife and the ability of millions of farmers to raise their crops.
