Sea catfish (Netuma thalassina) is a saltwater, freshwater, brackish species recorded in Hong Kong, Malaysia. It is mainly found over estuary, at depths of 10–195 m.
Scientific name: Netuma thalassina · Water: Saltwater, Freshwater, Brackish · Also known as: Giant sea catfish
Size: up to 185 cm
The Sea catfish is an estuarine ariid with a broad flattened head, no scales and three pairs of barbels around the mouth. Its first dorsal and pectoral spines are serrated, and a careless grab means a painful, swelling wound, so the fish is handled with a towel or a gripper rather than bare hands. Typically euryhaline, it is often found in estuaries but rarely enters fresh water, at temperatures around 26 to 29 °C, and it feeds mainly on crabs, prawns and mantis shrimps as well as fishes and molluscs. Malaysians call it ikan duri, duri meaning spine, and in Malaysia it is taken from the Selangor river mouth, Kuala Selangor and the Port Klang approaches, over the mangrove mud of Matang and Kuala Gula in Perak, in the Kuala Terengganu and Kelantan estuaries on the east coast, in the Rajang delta around Sibu and Belawai in Sarawak, and off Kota Belud and Sandakan in Sabah, always in the murky brackish water of a river mouth. Fish it on the bottom from the bank or from a boat with squid, fish strip or prawn, best after dark; the take turns into a solid run. Maximum about 185 cm total length, commonly around 70 cm. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
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