Cambodian fisherman catches world’s largest recorded freshwater fish
A giant stingray has become the largest recorded freshwater fish after being caught in the Mekong River in Cambodia, according to scientists from the Southeast Asian nation and the United States. A local fisherman snagged the fish which weighted 660 pounds on June 13. The stingray beat the previous record of a 646-pound catfish discovered in Thailand in 2005.
The fisherman told a local team of scientists from the Wonders of the Mekong project, which has publicized its conservation work in communities along the river. The team arrived within hours and were amazed by what they found. The discovery not only broke the world record but provided hope for the future of the river.
“When you see a fish this size, especially in freshwater, it is hard to comprehend, so I think all of our team was stunned,” Wonders of the Mekong leader Zeb Hogan said. “The fact that the fish can still get this big is a hopeful sign for the Mekong River.”
Man launches tiny boat he plans to sail across the Atlantic
A 48-year-old man tested his tiny fiberglass vessel he built himself in hopes of completing a 1,900 mile journey in the boat next year. Andrew Bedwell built the boat which is roughly 1.5 feet shorter than the last record-breaking small boat to complete the voyage.
Bedwell plans to leave from Newfoundland, Canada, in May next year, before trade winds bring him to Lizards Point in Cornwall. He is hoping to survive off a cold protein-rich substance that’s moulded around the internal walls of the boat to save space.
“All my life, I’ve done unusual challenges, and it’s slowly got more and more important to myself to get smaller and smaller and smaller,” Bedwell said.
Houston houses 25,000 homeless people with apartments
Houston has lowered its homeless rate by 63% in the past 10 years according to the city’s mayor, Sylvester Turner. Turner attributes the decrease to its “housing first” approach which focuses on getting people off the streets before addressing drug abuse, mental health and other issues first.
This approach received backlash but the city claims they have taken 25,000 people off the street by finding affordable apartments across the city. The strategy has united homeless service and low-income housing providers to work together to provide apartments for homeless people throughout the city.
“The goal that I have set is to get us down, in a sense, to zero homelessness in the city by the end of next year,” Mayor Sylvester Turner told KHou11.
