When you hear about a fish being washed ashore, you imagine a small little creature we eat for lunch… though common, we still can’t believe seeing a fish that is 7 feet long! Better yet… imagine our favorite LAPU-LAPU being 7 feet long! Woah!
Flord Calawag shares his photo of this giant fish:
“The Giant Grouper washed ashore at the shoreline of Brgy Taboc, Libertad, Antique last July 7, 2015. Locally known as pugaro, bayat or kugtong in Kinaray-a, the Giant Grouper (Epinephelus lanceolatus) weighs 176 kilograms and 7 feet long from mouth to the caudal fin. A child can fit inside the mouth of the grouper.”
Flord shares that it was still alive when fisherman, Jesie Cacam found it. It was still moving but was already very weak. It is possible that it got lost in shallow waters and got disoriented. It is considered an endangered and highly vulnerable species as there are not many left in heavily fished areas.
As for the fate of this giant grouper, the fish was sliced and its meat was sold for consumption.
