Fishermen frequently pose with their catch, but one Australian man provoked criticism when he flaunted his absurd 80 kg fish.
80 kg, you read that right. That is more than many fully grown adults at 12st 5lbs. It goes without saying that it was not your typical goldfish.
The fish was actually a giant bass grouper that was caught on Monday while fishing off North Stradbroke Island by a Queensland man who wished to remain unnamed (1 August).
This bass grouper, which typically lives between 250 and 600 meters underwater, was caught after what I can only assume was a lot of effort about 40 kilometers off Point Lookout on North Stradbroke Island. It does not sound like the easiest task, and I have never tried reeling in a human-sized creature from the probably slippery deck of a boat.
The fish was extremely heavy and was 175 centimeters long, or 5’7″ if we continue to use human measurements. The bass grouper could certainly put on a trilby, some sunglasses, and a long coat and pass by people on the street unnoticed if this were a cartoon.
After he was able to haul the beast onto the boat, the fisherman did not think twice about taking pictures of it, but not everyone was as impressed as he was.
Following the posting of pictures online, Facebook users argued that the fish should be returned to the water and left alone.
One person wrote: “Please tell us you put him back to live the rest of his life out in the sea where he belongs.”
Another critic commented: “I hope one day our society will find photos like this as repulsive as we do people photographed after killing a lion.”
Even though the fisherman faced a lot of criticism, other Facebook users expressed the opinion that he would have been justified in keeping it.
One person argued: “Clearly all you people that are saying he should of released it aren’t fishermen/women. You can’t release a fish that came from such deep water, while reeling it up , their insides literally explode, hence why his eyes are popping out of his head an its insides are coming out of it stomachs. And for all the people hating that he caught the fish, you literally CAN NOT help what fish lands on your line at the time.”
According to British Sea Fishing, “the vast majority of fish which have been dragged up from the depths by a commercial trawler will die, even if they are returned to the sea, as their swim bladder will be ruptured.”