Experts suggest that this could be a grouper, but the cause of death for this creature remains unclear.
John Lindholm and his wife discovered the carcass of a fish weighing approximately 150 kg (330 lbs) and measuring 1.8 meters (5.9 feet) washed up on Moore Park Beach in Queensland, Australia, as reported by the International Business Times on March 8. Lindholm had never seen a fish like this before and could not identify its species.
The carcass of a nearly two-meter-long fish washed up on Moore Park Beach. (Photo: Newsweek).
“I thought this could be a grouper, but it doesn’t seem to match the descriptions others have given me,” Lindholm said. He shared this image on social media to seek help in identifying the creature. Some comments suggested it could be a grouper, cod, or sea catfish.
It seems the fish showed no signs of physical harm, Lindholm observed. He suggested that it might have lived a full life and simply passed away.
The Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol (QBFP) consulted experts at the Queensland Museum to determine the species of this creature. Although the condition of the fish made it difficult for experts to reach a definitive conclusion, they believe it to be a grouper. The team of specialists is also unsure about the cause of the fish’s death and why it washed ashore.
In Queensland, fishing for and possessing grouper is prohibited. “If you accidentally catch a species that is on the protected list, do not remove it from the water; instead, quickly and carefully release it back into the water,” a spokesperson from QBFP stated.
