Poacher killed by fish
September 15th, 2006 by admin
The Florida Keys Keynoter reported that a man who had illegally speared a goliath grouper was pulled underwater by the fish and drowned.
Goliath groupers can reach 800 pounds and over 6 feet in length. Since 1990, it has been against the law to kill them (the species is a candidate to be listed under the Endangered Species List).
A 42-year-old man from Stock Island was diving Sunday morning when he made the unwise decision to attack the large fish.
The paper quoted a Monroe County Sheriff’s Detective, “it looks like the fish wrapped the line attached to the spear around the victim’s wrist. The fish then went into a hole in a coral rock, effectively pinning the man to the bottom of the ocean. The victim was apparently unable to get free and most likely drowned.”