Zeb Hogan, University of Nevada-Reno / AP
Hogan poses with a giant stingray in the Mekong River after it was captured by a fisherman in Cambodia in April. The freshwater stingrays he's heard about "could be the largest fish in the world and we know next to nothing about it," he says.
The world's largest freshwater fish are losing the fight for survival, as pollution, overfishing, and construction threaten the rivers and lakes they call home.
Zeb Hogan is an aquatic ecologist and National Geographic Emerging Explorer who is currently leading the National Geographic's Megafishes Project. The project will span six continents and encompass expeditions to study 14 of Earth's most diverse freshwater ecosystems seeking the freshwater giants and a way to protect them, a three-year effort to document the 20-some species of freshwater fish at least 6.5 feet (2 meters) in length or 220 pounds (100 kilograms) in weight
Photograph by Brant Allen
In the following pictures you can see Dr. Hogan while studying and measuring Giant Freshwater Stingrays which he believe could be the biggest freshwater fish in the world taking the title from the record-setting Mekong Giant Catfish caught in 2005 (see the last picture), another huge fish coming from the same area.
Photograph by Stefan Lovgren
Apichart Weerawong, AP
Apichart Weerawong, AP
Apichart Weerawong, AP
Suthep Kritsanavarin, World Wildlife Fund-National Geographic / AP
Two Thai fishermen show the 646-pound giant catfish they caught from the Mekong River in northern Thailand in 2005, the biggest freshwater fish on record.
Click here to see the list of the 8 parts of the National Geographic's Special News Series Megafishes full of interesting contents. A sample here below:
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