Thai fishermen catch, eat record-sized catfish (The size of a grizzly bear)

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N29486773.htm

WASHINGTON, June 29 (Reuters) - Fishermen in northern Thailand have caught the biggest catfish on record -- a 646-pound (293-kg) giant the size of a grizzly bear -- and eaten it, the WWF and the National Geographic Society said on Wednesday.

The giant catfish, believed to be the largest freshwater fish ever found, was caught along the Mekong River, home to more species of massive fish than any river on Earth.

"We've now confirmed that this catfish is the current record holder, an astonishing find," Dr Zeb Hogan, a WWF Conservation Science Fellow, said in the joint statement.

Local environmentalists and government officials tried to negotiate the release of the fish so it could continue its spawning migration in the far north of Thailand but the adult male died and was eaten in a remote village, it said.

[MrScorpio]

1. Giant Thai Catfish

Dems good eatin'.

[leftofthedial]

3. how much corn meal would that take?

and what kind of skillet could you fry it in?

[MrScorpio]

6. No skillet - For that puppy you'd need the giant wok

[leftofthedial]

18. day-um

that would be some serious stir fry . . .

[bigwillq]

2. I'm confused!

They caught a dead fish? If it was dead, wouldn't they say found a dead fish.

"Local environmentalists and government officials tried to negotiate the release of the fish so it could continue its spawning migration in the far north of Thailand but the adult male died and was eaten in a remote village, it said."

I didn't read the whole story. Maybe that would help me understand better.

[Kraklen]

4. There's huge catfish in south east asia.

Way bigger than the ones found here. It's a completly different genus.

National Geographic, I think, did an article on them a while back. I'll see if I can find it.

I mean fucking huge!

[Kraklen]

5. The Mekong Giant Catfish.

Bah bah baaaaaaah!

[Jamastiene]

10. I've seen bigger than that one down at

the Pee Dee River in Richmond County. I never could catch one that big, but I'm still trying. You could feed a village with that monster.

[Maddy McCall]

17. I've seen bigger ones, too. From the Mississippi River near Natchez.

I don't fish on the Mississippi. Too many horror stories, plus the polution. :scared:

[RebelOne]

20. I doubt that you have seen any bigger cats than the Thai fish

Here are the Tennessee state-record catfish. Scroll down to Catfish

http://www.state.tn.us/twra/fish/FishRecTbl.html

[Kraklen]

25. You do realize that's a full grown man?

[Shakespeare]

26. There are some huge catfish here, too.

My grandfather--who was tough and unafraid of ANYTHING--was an avid fisherman and hunter who refused to go back to a couple of fishing spots because of the huge catfish he saw there. Freaked him the hell out, which is saying a lot.

If you know any anglers in the Texas/Louisiana/Mississippi area, ask them. Some of those fish stories are pretty accurate. ;-)

[Redstone]

7. Of course they ate the fucker.

I doubt they live the kind of lifestyle that allows for the luxury of catch-and-release.

Redstone

[NNN0LHI]

9. I'd a had that mother stuffed and hung it up on my living room wall

646 pounds...

[Redstone]

11. You must have a damn big living room.

What was it, 7 feet long or so? I've seen stuffed fish that long before, but at 600+ pounds, it's gotta have some serious girth going for it as well.

And imagine the whiskers on the SOB.

Redstone

[liberalitch]

8. There's not a bed of black eyed peas with corn bread polenta...

big enough!

[fishnfla]

12. Reminds me of the guy who holds the world record for spotted seatrout

Dude caught a monster speckled trout down in Ft Pierce-19lbs or so. They had it weighed on a certified scale, then they filleted it out and ate it.
The dude was a UPS driver, he made a delivery to the USF&G(?) headquarters, where they keep track of records, and mentioned his catch. Their eyes got wide and they said: "where is it?" He told them he ate it and they just looked at him like he was a martian. The scale was certified so he holds the record, but he lost like 10K in endorsements

[alarimer]

14. I know someone else who did the same thing

Except it was here in S. Texas and it would have broken the state record for trout at over 13 pounds. He wasn't interested in the record and ate it.

I think that if you take the proper measurements you can have them make a fiberglass replica instead of preserving the real thing. Then I guess you can eat it. Unless they need the actual fish for some reason. But collecting the otoliths might have been a good idea just to see how old she was. I assume a trout that size is female since they grow larger.

[fishnfla]

19. yes they are females

we call 'em gator trout down here when they get that big. Since the net ban they are everywhere. biggest i caught was 9 lbs

[alarimer]

21. We have an upper size limit of 25 inches

Actually you can keep one over 25 as part of the daily bag limit. While nets have been banned for years, there is a large recreational fishery and so I don't see very many large ones at creel surveys these days. We (I am a fish and wildlife tech for the state) do 90 gill net samples a year ourselves. Generally speaking we might get 10 a year over 25 inches.

[fishnfla]

24. The Indian River Lagoon has a larger subspecies

You probably already know that. We get some real bruisers on the grass flats here. We are allowed one over a certain size too, I think 24". Its routine to get them over that size, even now in the summer heat they are getting the gators.

[jmowreader]

13. It's called a Giant Mekong Catfish

It is the biggest and rarest fish in the Mekong delta...and while they normally get very large, this one's fucking huge.

According to planetcatfish.com, this is one of the fastest-growing fish in the world; it is reputed to reach 440 lbs in six years...so this one was probably less than ten years old.

As terrible as this sounds, I'm glad he's out of there. Not only did he nourish a LOT of people, but he was probably the river's main bad-ass; with him gone, other males can spawn.

[sasquatch]

15. Thai food is one of the best

[ghostsofgiants]

16. Yep, `General Sherman'.

They say he's five hundred pounds of bottom-dwelling fury, don't you know. No one knows how old he is, but if you ask me (and most people do), he's hundred years if he's a day. No one's ever caught him, but one fella came close. Went by the name of Homer. Seven feet tall he was, with arms like tree trunks. His eyes were like steel, cold, hard. Had a shock of hair, red like the fires of Hell.

[Bullwinkle925]

22. Could this have anything to do with Agent Orange dropped on the

Mekong Delta? Just wondering.


:shrug:

[Akoto]

23. I had no idea ...

Who knew the World Wrestling Federation had a conservation science division? :shrug:

Cool about the fish, though. That's a big one.