Sympatico / MSN News : Unusual News : Thai fishermen catch catfish believed to be world's largest, 293 kilograms

Sympatico / MSN News : Unusual News : Thai fishermen catch catfish believed to be world's largest, 293 kilograms:

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Thai fishermen caught a catfish weighing 293 kilograms - 646 pounds - which is believed to be the world's largest freshwater fish ever recorded, a researcher said Thursday.

A 293-kg (646-lb) Mekong giant catfish, netted in Thailand recently, may be the largest freshwater fish ever found. The fish was documented as part of a World Wildlife Fund-National Geographic project to identify and study and conserve freshwater fish around the world that exceed two metres in length. (CP PHOTO/HO/National Geographic)

The 2.7-metre (8.9-foot) Mekong giant catfish was netted May 1 by villagers in Chiang Khong, a remote district in northern Thailand, and weighed by Thai fisheries department officials, said Zeb Hogan, who leads an international project to locate and study the world's largest freshwater fish species.