A fisherman who caught a 22-kilogram Red Emperor has revealed why he won’t be eating the ‘once in a lifetime’ catch.
Ed Falconer, a charter operator, was fishing off Rainbow Beach in south-east Queensland earlier this week when he hooked this beast.
How did he catch the beast?
After wrestling the red emperor with a rod and struggle for 20 minutes he finally got the 104-centimeter fish on the boat deck.
‘I actually thought it was a big cod instead of a red emperor, the way it was fighting,’ he remarked.
Mr. Falconer planned to donate the fish to Queensland Fisheries so scientists can find out how it lived for so long. He said scientists could find out the age of the fish by removing a bone in its skull and counting the calcified rings inside.
Contribution towards Science
The fisherman didn’t want the huge fish to go to waste and hoped the research could help find out more about the red emperor species.
Mr. Falconer was forced to put his business, Keely Rose Fishing Charters, on hold due to coronavirus restrictions but finally started tours again earlier this week.
