Top 10 List:

The Biggest Fish in the World

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The biggest fish in the world is the Whale Shark. It is a shark not a whale. Whales are not fish, otherwise they would top this list. They are on the world's heaviest animals list. actually the top three fish on this list are sharks, and there are probably more sharks that would fill the top of this list if all were included. Another large sea creature at a size to make this list (but not a fish) is the Giant Squid**.

whale sharks at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium whale sharks at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium

 

This is not a definitive list, the information has been gathered from several sources and there are probably some fish that have been left out. The weights listed are sometimes estimated weights, for some of these animals it is quite hard to weigh as you can imagine. Where do you get a scale to weigh a shark from anyway? This is a list in progress, the weights have been researched from different sources, and some represent the largest found, other the estimated average weight of the species. Contact us if you know of other fish that should be on the list.

FISH max. recorded weight notes
    (kg) (lbs)  
1. Whale Shark 11,800 26,000 The heaviest specimen ever found (in March 1994) weighed 36,000 kg. The Whale Shark also has the thickest skin of any animal, measuring up to 6 inches (15 cm) on the back. 
2. Basking Shark 5,218 11,480  
3. Great White Shark 2,300 5,060  
4. Ocean Sunfish 1,000 2,200 the heaviest known bony fish in the world
5. Atlantic Blue Marlin 818 1803 One of the largest of the Marlin family, the Atlantic blue marlin (Makaira nigricans) can reach 5 m (16.4 ft) in length and 818 kg (1,803 lb) in weight.
6. Swordfish 650 1,430 "They commonly reach 3 m (9.8 ft) in length, and the maximum reported is 4.55 m (14.9 ft) in length and 650 kg (1,430 lb) in weight" from wikipedia
7. Giant Cambodian stingray 455 1,000  
8. Pirarucu 180 400 South American tropical freshwater fish (largest freshwater fish) which can grow up to 10 ft long.
9. Mekong Giant Catfish 293 646  
10. Beluga or European Sturgeon 264 582 Unconfirmed reports of belugas reaching a length of up to 8.6 m (28 ft) and weighing as much as 2,700 kilograms (5,940 lbs).
11 Bull Sharks 250 550 these are the largest freshwater fish
12 Halibut 211 470 largest recently recorded halibut was 211 kilograms (470 lb) and 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) long, caught by Bosse Carlsson and Hans Oluf Nilsson outside Bodø, Norway in 2009. Wikipedia lists the halibut is the largest flat fish, averaging 11–13.5 kilograms (24–30 lb), but catch as large as 333 kilograms (734 lb) has been reported.

* other large fish include the Wels Catfish 150kg (330 lb)
** Giant Squid (300 kg / 660 lbs) are classified as cephlapods.

Other fastest animal lists include:

Old Comments

  • Your list of top 10 heaviest fish on the planet should be like this- 1. whaleshark 2. basking shark 3. great white shark 4. ocean sunfish 5. Sharp-tail Sunfish (mola) 6. Southern Mola (sunfish) 7. Smalltooth Sawfish 8. Beluga Sturgeon 9. Tiger Shark 10.Green Sawfish Can you people please make my given list! thank you (from hariom (india), Jan 2014)
  • You guys are missing one of the classic big fish....Bluefin Tuna! Record 1,496 lbs (from Ryan Greek, Feb 2014)
  • The.megaladon was them biggest fish. It's extinct though
  • This biggest fish is very essitential for fisher man. It has many meat i think this fish can gice us many meat for us who are hungry.i am just joking. (from Sudin rai, June 2012)
  • Back in the 1920s an Atlantic sturgeon was caught in the Saint John River New Brunswick Canada that weighted over 800 pounds. That fish was mounted and is being stored in the New Brunswick Museum. Its length is 14 feet 8 inches. (from george graham, March 2012)
  • Why aren't the mackerel type fishes listed? Bluefin Tuna, Blue Marlin,etc? Thanks. (from Brian, Dec 2011)

 

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