VietNamNet Bridge – A fisherman in the southern province of Dong Thap on Tuesday morning sold a 110kg giant carb to a restaurant in HCM City for VND150 million ($7,000).

The fisherman, named Nghia, from Phong Hoa commune, Lai Vung district, caught the giant crab on the Hau River, a branch of the Mekong River, on the evening of Monday.

As the carb was very big, Nghia needed the help of many people to take it ashore. The fish weighed 110 kg, 1.3 m long and 0.5 m wide.

Some local traders rushed to Nghia’s home to buy the fish during the night. Nghia sold it to a restaurant in HCM City for VND150 million and the fish was transported from Dong Thap to Saigon the next day.

The giant barb or Siamese giant carp is the largest species of cyprinid in the world. These migratory fish are found only in the Mae Klong, Mekong and Chao Phraya river basins in Indochina. Its numbers have declined drastically due to habitat loss and overfishing, and it is now considered critically endangered.

Recently fishermen in the Mekong Delta caught the rare fish and all of the fish were sold to restaurants in HCM City.

On December 28, 2014, a fisherman in Dong Thap caught a 90kg giant barb in the Nha Man River (a tributary of Tien River).

On December 6, 2014, a 1.8 m long, 130 kg giant barb was caught by fishermen Nguyen Thanh Loc, 50 and Nguyen Van Minh, 27, in Vinh Long province in the Co Chien River.

On October 16, 2014, Tran Minh Dung, 35, a fisherman in Ho Chi Minh netted a 130 kg giant barb in the Dong Nai River, District 9, HCM City.

Le Ha