Cambodian fishermen hook giant endangered stingray

 

柬埔寨漁民釣上瀕危的巨大魟魚

【摘要2022.7.30.六.自由】◎周虹汶

Cambodian fishermen on the Mekong River got a shock when they inadvertently hooked an endangered giant freshwater stingray four meters long and weighing 180 kilos, scientists said on Wednesday.

科學家在週三表示，當湄公河的柬埔寨漁民無意間釣上一條長4公尺，重180公斤的淡水刺魟時，他們為之震驚不已。

The female leviathan, one of Southeast Asia’s largest and rarest species of fish, was caught by accident last week in Stung Treng province when it swallowed a smaller fish that had taken a baited hook.

這條雌性巨物是東南亞最大且最罕見的魚種之一，上週在上丁省意外被捕獲，當時牠吞下一條吃下吊鉤的小魚。

An international team of experts on the US-funded Wonders of the Mekong project worked with the fishermen to unhook the ray before weighing and measuring it and returning it unharmed to the river.

美國資助的「湄公河奇觀」計畫的一支國際專家團隊與漁民合作，解下這隻魟魚的魚鉤，之後對牠秤重和測量，把牠毫髮無傷地放回河中。

The Mekong River is a crucial habitat for a vast array of species large and small, but project leader Zeb Hogan, a fish biologist from the University of Nevada, said the river’s underwater ecosystem was poorly understood.

湄公河是眾多大小物種的重要棲息地，但是計畫領袖、來自內華達大學的魚類生物學家澤布．霍根說，人們對湄公河的水下生態體系了解貧乏。

The famous waterway starts in China and twists south through parts of Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam, feeding 60 million people through its basin and tributaries.

這條知名的水道發源於中國，向南蜿蜒穿國泰國、寮國、緬甸、柬埔寨和越南的部份地區，其盆地和支流滋養了6000萬人。

新聞辭典

leviathan：名詞，海怪、任何巨大的海洋生物、龐然大物。若採用大寫Leviathan則指政治國家，特別是一個有龐大官僚體系的集權國家。例句：The US is seen as an economic leviathan. （美國被視為是一個經濟大國）

waterway：名詞，水路、河道、航路、運河。例句：It is no longer of commercial importance as a waterway.（它不再具有作為水路的商業重要性）

basin：名詞，水盆、內灣、盆地、船塢。例句：The village lay in a peaceful basin surrounded by hills.（這個村莊座落在一處祥和寧靜的盆地內，周圍山丘環繞。）