Grouper of gigantic proportion isn’t new. Though so, it is not everyday you read about someone reeling one in. Granted, the enormous grouper a Labuan fisherman reeled in is not the largest grouper yet, but man, at 241 kilograms (531 lbs), it was not something to sniff at either. The unnamed fisherman caught what he described as “a fish of a golden time” with a rod and reel, but it wasn’t a walk in the park hauling this sea beast in.
When the fish first got hooked, it did not plan to give up without a fight. And fight it did. The fisherman put up a battle with the grouper that lasted around 30 minutes before the destined-for-food marine creature finally relented. According to a report, the fisherman caught the massive grouper in the waters near the Sumandak Charlie oil rig.
It was good day for this man as he walked away from to the Labuan wet market a lot richer when he sold the big catch to a local fish noodle businessman for 13,255 Ringgit (about US$3,250). $3K may not the most someone had paid for a fish, but this is a grouper, or a keratang as it was known locally, and not some perfect breed Japanese Koi or some giant tuna, which was kind of something.
For those who aren’t aware, Labuan is a federal territory of Malaysia, located off the coast of the state of Sabah in Brunei Bay in East Malaysia. Also, this isn’t the biggest grouper to be caught by hook and line; the biggest recorded catch was a 680-pound Goliath grouper, reeled on May 20, 1961 off Fernandina Beach, Florida.
Source: CNA.
