Sydney, Feb 22, (dpa/GNA) – The crew of a fishing vessel had to be rescued off the eastern coast of Australia, after a 70-kilogram black marlin slammed into the boat’s engine, and punched a hole in its canvas.
The skipper of the 6.7-metre private fishing boat said the crew, hooked the marlin at about 1 pm (0200 GMT) on Sunday, when the fish turned around and hit the vessel, which was some 32 kilometres off Tura Head in southern New South Wales.
“We were fighting it and it did a U-turn and slammed into the engine,” the skipper said in comments cited by Marine Rescue NSW on Monday. “It happened so quick.”
“It was a freaky thing,” the skipper added. “We had to cut the line.”
Rescuers said the fish slammed into the boat’s engine and punched a hole in its canvas cover and cowling, disabling its power.
“It was an unusual rescue,” said Marine Rescue Merimbula Unit Commander Bill Blakeman, who was part of the crew that towed the fishing vessel back to land.
“I’ve had a couple of shark related incidents over the years, where they attacked propellers, but never a marlin disabling a vessel,” Blakeman said.
Black marlins, or Makaira indica, have a long, pointed bill and can grow to a maximum length of 5 metres and can weight up to over 700 kilograms.
According to NSW’s Department of Primary Industries, they are not normally considered dangerous “but have been known to attack boats and floating objects by impaling them with their bill.”
GNA