A Florida fisherman caught a disturbingly large fish last weekend

Nothing to see here, except another reason to never go in the ocean. While fishing off the coast of Florida’s Sanibel Island last weekend Jon Black, a man from Cape Coral, caught this massive sea beast while sitting in his sea kayak. 

It’s actually a Goliath Grouper, to be specific. According to Black, the fish was 210 cm in length, 185 cm in circumference and weighed roughly 551 lbs.  

Goliath Groupers are considered critically endangered, so catch and release is acceptable, however landing one is illegal. Even if you could legally land one it would be a hell of a chore. The fish can get up to 8ft long and nearly 800lbs. Plus, they’re known to eat sharks and barracudas. 

https://youtube.com/watch?v=jPXtl15W4lQ

This article appears in May 27 – Jun 2, 2015.