Biologist Zeb Hogan holds a taimen, a giant member of the salmon family, while searching for megafishes in Mongolia.
Hogan is leader of the newly launched Megafishes Project, the first effort to document, study, and protect the world's largest freshwater fish.
The project aims to improve conservation of megafishes—species that grow to at least six feet (two meters) and weigh more than 200 pounds (90 kilograms). They include the mammoth taimen, catfish the size of bears, and half-ton river stingrays
Many megafishes are endangered due to a variety of threats, including overfishing, pollution, habitat destruction, and migration interrupted by dams
Because the largest migratory fish are usually the first to disappear from an ecosystem, many of these giants are on the verge of extinction
Hogan's survey will cover 14 lake and river systems on six continents over the next three years
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