Giant 75kg catfish appears

A catfish weighing a record 75kg was unexpectedly brought to Vietnam from Cambodia by a restaurant owner in Hanoi. This is also the largest catfish ever recorded in Vietnam.

A giant catfish weighing 75 kg at the Fishery Shop (Photo: Ho Bach/Vietnam+)

Mr. Nguyen Hong Thai, owner of Ngu Quan shop (Cau Giay, Hanoi) is the one who took the trouble to bring this catfish to Hanoi.

Sharing with reporters, Mr. Thai said: "Because a friend in Cambodia informed me that local people caught two catfish weighing more than 70kg. Immediately, I thought of bringing these two fish to Vietnam."

According to Mr. Thai, the first catfish was brought in on November 6th, weighing up to 70kg. However, this individual is not as "huge" as the new individual brought in on the evening of November 9th.

“After importing the first fish, I continued to receive information that local fishermen caught another larger catfish, so I immediately thought of bringing it back to Vietnam,” Mr. Thai added.

With its large weight and long body, this is the largest catfish that many people have ever witnessed in Vietnam (Photo: Ho Bach/Vietnam+)

To bring this "old fish" home, he had to ask his friends to transport it by air to Da Nang and then by car to Hanoi. When he received it, the fish was in a very weak condition. Weighing it at Ngu Quan, everyone recorded the weight of the fish at 75kg.

The restaurant's head chef with 4 years of experience commented: "The fish's skin is very thick, its fins are large, and its meat is tough. In all my time in the kitchen, I have never seen such a large catfish."

Mr. Thai also said that Ngu Quan had imported "giant" fish many times before. However, this was the first time he had received such a large catfish.

“In Vietnam, the largest catfish usually weighs only 40-50kg, so this can be considered a new record.”

The restaurant owner also revealed that to bring this "old fish" to Vietnam, he had to spend a large sum of money. In Hanoi alone, diners will have to spend more than 1.2 million VND for 1kg of fresh fish.

According to the reporter's observation, the "giant" catfish was more than two meters long, the entire skin of the fish had turned silver. The fins alone were as big as two adult hands. The body of the fish was as big as a human arm. To lift this fish, the restaurant had to mobilize five employees. When lifting this "big fish", the staff here had to be very careful because the fins were very thick and sharp.

Mr. Thai said: "After hearing the news that the "giant" fish appeared at the store, many customers did not mind the night, coming to enjoy it."

According to Vietnam+