Man reels in giant 6-meter, 130-kilogram oarfish
After a 40-minute struggle, the man finally hauled the giant oarfish, nearly 6 meters long and weighing 130 kg, ashore.
On the beach of Xianglan village in Taimali township, Taitung County, Taiwan (China), a man named Lin Ifan was fishing when he unexpectedly hooked a huge fish.
Laid out on the beach, the oarfish measured nearly 6 meters long and weighed around 130 kg. Lin reportedly fought the fish for 40 minutes before he managed to drag it ashore. At first, he thought it was just an ordinary fish.
Onlookers could not hide their excitement when they saw Lin's enormous catch. Many people came over to take photos with the giant sea creature.
The oarfish was nearly 6 meters long and weighed about 130 kg.
Ho Yuan-hsing, director of the Eastern Marine Biology Research Center of Taiwan's Fisheries Research Institute, said the fish Lin Ifan caught was a Russell's oarfish, popularly nicknamed the "Dragon King's messenger" or the "earthquake fish". According to Ho, oarfish usually wash up on shore only when they are injured, sick or swept in by waves.
Ho added that this was the first time he had heard of a fisherman catching an oarfish on a line. Since it was caught alive, the fish must have been quite healthy, because sick oarfish do not take bait.
The animal's sheer size thrilled onlookers.
The giant oarfish was first described in 1772, but it is rarely encountered because it lives deep in the ocean. Giant oarfish are thought to live at depths of around 1,000 meters below the sea surface. According to scientists, the oarfish is the longest bony fish in the world, capable of reaching 17 meters in length and weighing up to 270 kg.
Oarfish have silvery bodies and are sometimes called the "king of herrings" because they resemble these small fish in appearance. However, they get the name oarfish from their long, oar-like pelvic fins.
Lin fought for 40 minutes to haul the fish ashore.
Little is known about the conservation status of the giant oarfish, as the animals are very rarely observed alive. According to the website of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), people who have eaten oarfish meat described it as very flabby and sticky.
Oarfish may look like fearsome sea monsters, but they have never been considered a danger to humans.
Orcas attack two racing boats off Gibraltar
A pod of orcas rammed two boats competing in The Ocean Race in the Strait of Gibraltar on June 22, 2023, forcing the crews to slow down.
Tuna rub against sharks to get rid of parasites
Tuna often rub against sharks rather than their own kind, because sandpaper-like shark skin offers a suitable surface for scraping off parasites.
