An Australian fisherman stumbled upon a 175cm sea beast while fishing over the weekend; his startling discovery sparked an online debate after people said it was too “magnificent” to be caught.
The 65-year-old fisherman unexpectedly stumbled upon the sea creature (Image: @NINE/Getty) An astonished fisherman faced a backlash after he stumbled upon a monstrous sea creature weighing a whopping 80kg.
The fisherman, from Brisbane, Australia, managed to reel in the grouper while fishing off the southern Queensland coast over the weekend.
He cast a 30-pound (14kg) rated line and was astonished when he caught the 175cm marine giant off North Stradbroke Island.
Mega fish are usually found at oceanic depths between 250 and 600 meters and can measure up to 200 centimeters long and weigh up to 100 kilograms, according to records.
The proud 65-year-old man showcased the “magnificent” beast by posting images on social media, which has since caused a division online, Daily Mail reports.
He caught the fish in his retirement savings boat (Image: Getty Images)
Some people praised him for his catch, as one person commented, “A worthy catch would have been a struggle to get on the boat.”
However, one user said, “Please tell me they released it, it’s probably older than the fisherman who caught it and now it’s just a trophy.”
“Poor thing, I hope they released it,” a third person commented.
Another added, “I’m not an activist, but that’s sad.”
Some users rushed to the fisherman’s defense and said he “obviously wasn’t targeting that fish” and pointed out the strength of his line.
He shared his massive discovery online (Image: @NINE/Getty)
But others argued that it was the “best 30-pound line in the world” and highlighted that it was “a great setup to handle with that.”
Despite causing a division of opinions, commentators pointed out that even if the fish had been released, it probably would not have survived after release.
“It would be a waste because a fish from those depths, whether it’s 10 cm or 1 m, suffers barotrauma, the rapid pressure change causes gases in the fish’s body to expand, which is deadly,” added one user.
While another said, “You will never see as much honesty shown by commercial fishermen, there is a toll on similarly sized fish of other species that goes unnoticed or unrecorded.”
