A group of anglers caught a 200kg catfish during a mass fishing session in Thailand.

Five fishermen managed to haul in the Mekong giant catfish at the Ubol Ratana Dam in Khon Kaen province.

Footage shows the men dragging the massive fish out of the water and transporting it up a steep slope on the morning of October 24.

Three Mekong giant catfish were reportedly netted, weighing between 110 and 441 lbs (50 –200 kg).

The Khon Kaen Inland Fisheries Research and Development Centre later retrieved them for breeding purposes.

Residents also caught large quantities of other fish, mostly Siamese shark catfish, silver barb, Siamese mud carp, and giant snakehead.

Somsak Thonghul, director of the Khon Kaen Inland Fisheries Research and Development Centre, said: 'The dam closed the spillway to collect and transport fish that were trapped so they could be released back into the Phong River to grow and reproduce in the wild.'

Officers discovered more than 40 fish species, most of which were large enough to serve as breeding stock.

These fish will help boost aquatic life in the Phong River before expanding to other areas if successfully released.

Rare and nearly extinct species were placed in ponds for study, with the aim of developing breeding methods before releasing them back into the wild.