Angler catches giant grouper, weighing 160kg at sea

A massive 350-pound Warsaw grouper was caught by Garrett Thornton and Captain Kyle Lowe. After being gutted, the fish weighed in at 330 pounds, making it the second-largest Warsaw grouper caught in the 74-year history of the Destin Fishing Festival in Florida, USA.

The giant grouper weighed 160kg.

“It took us 30 minutes to get the fish onto the boat, but then it took over an hour to figure out how to get it over the side of the boat. It took five people,” Lowe told The Destin Log.

Lowe told The Destin Log that he had known about the whereabouts of a giant grouper in offshore waters since last August, because it kept attacking smaller cod groupers his customers were targeting with lighter tackle.

Lowe promised Thornton that he would wait until the right moment during the rodeo and take him there. And he kept that promise.

"We put out a rod, a bait. I thought it might take a while for a fish to bite, but within 15 seconds it was biting. I knew it was going to be a good fish, but I didn't expect it to be this big," Lowe said.

Warsaw groupers are known to live at depths of about 55 – 520 m below the sea. They have a characteristic long second dorsal spine. This species is the only grouper with 10 dorsal spines instead of 11 like other species. An adult can be up to 2.3 m long and weigh up to 260 kg. In Florida, the largest Warsaw grouper ever caught weighed nearly 200 kg.

Warsaw groupers are found in Belize, Brazil, Cuba, Haiti, Panama, and the United States. A representative of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said they "discourage residents and visitors from catching Warsaw groupers." The American Fisheries Society currently classifies them as "Endangered."

Hai Van (T/h)

Source: https://giadinh.suckhoedoisong.vn/can-thu-cau-duoc-con-ca-mu-khong-lo-nang-160kg-tren-bien-172240930074426968.htm