Jeff Corwin Giant Stingray: Conservationist Could Break World Record

On March 6, conservationist Jeff Corwin caught a giant stingray, the largest freshwater fish caught. Now it turns out the catch could also be a world record.

The animal and nature conservationist — who is host and executive producer of the Animal Planet’s The Jeff Corwin Experience and Corwin’s Quest — made headlines for catching the fish, which he enthusiastically shared on his Facebook page last week.

“Meet the worlds largest freshwater fish! What an epic moment with Dr. Ning…and her incredible research on this ultimate behemoth of the mystery! This giant freshwater stingray was 14 feet long and weighed probably around 600 to 800 pounds! Check out this video just for my Facebook peeps, share your thoughts and share with friends!”

For those concerned that the giant stingray was harmed, there is no need to worry. This photo shows the moment where the team released the fish back into the water safe and sound.

The scientists were working in Thailand’s Mae Klong River, when they came across the unusual stingray, according to National Geographic. The fish — a Himantura polylepis or H. chaophraya — measured 7.9 feet across and 14 feet in length and weighed approximately 700 to 800 pounds, Nantarika Chansue, a veterinarian and professor at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok who helped catch the animal, said via e-mail.

Zeb Hogan, a National Geographic fellow and a professor of biology at the University of Nevada, Reno says the researchers were not able to get an exact weight on the giant stingray because they did not want to hurt it. Hogan met this particular fish in 2009, when it was tagged to keep track of its growth.

“Certainly (this) was a huge fish, even compared to other giant freshwater stingrays, and definitely ranks among the largest freshwater fish in the world.”

But for Jeff Corwin, the good news keep coming, as this catch may be a world record, which he shared on another Facebook post.

“WORLD RECORD! I (and the Ocean Mysteries team) are so excited! Turns out this giant freshwater stingray maybe a world record for the largest freshwater fish ever captured! It measured over 14 feet long and over 8 feet wide! I will let you know the final results! FYI, this stingray was captured with the world’s leading specialist on these animals Dr. Ning, the information from her study is solely for conservation, and as you can see in the picture this is the moment of release, the animal is doing well and thriving.”

As reported by the Inquisitr, an 800 pounds stingray was captured off the coast of Miami in 2012, by 30-year fishing veteran Captain Mark Quartiano, while he was filming an episode of the show Mark the Shark.

The entire story of how this giant freshwater stingray was caught will be featured in a future episode of Ocean Mysteries on ABC, Jeff Corwin said on Facebook.

[Image via VMARC/Facebook]