Video: Man Loses It Underwater As Grouper Steals Catch

Goliath groupers are known to put up one heck of a fight when they happen to bite on a fisherman’s line.

They’ve also been blamed for flipping over a paddle boarder on occasion. Once in a while, they’ll even jump out of the water to snag a shark that’s already taken a fisherman’s bait.

But, what happens when a spear fisherman is underwater, minding his own business going after snapper near a shipwreck?

It seems if goliaths happen to be in the neighborhood with a taste for snapper at the time, hysterical antics ensue.

Spear fisherman Grayson Shepard found that out personally during a recent dive off Florida’s Apalachicola. A group of goliaths was in the area and one felt just bold enough to help himself, dragging the man and his catch along with it, National Geographic reported.

Shepard’s encounter was caught on video, showing the underwater tug-of-war in full color. While Shepard’s verbal reaction can’t quite be understood on the video, it’s clear he wasn’t happy with the not-to-little scavenger.

See Also:

• Watch: Giant Grouper Flips Over Paddle Boarder
• Grouper Swallows 4-Foot Shark in 1 Bite

“I weigh 220 pounds, and it dragged me easily 20 feet or so before letting go,” the geographic quoted him as saying.

Shepard’s video was posted on YouTube by the National Geographic. In the video’s description, oceanographer Sylvia Earlie explains the grouper was just being a grouper.

“Groupers – I think of them as the Labrador retrievers of the sea,” she said. “They’re just such good-natured fish.”

Goliath grouper can grow up to 800 pounds. The record catch in Florida came in at 680 pounds, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. That catch was made off Fernandina Beach back in 1961.

Goliath groupers are a prohibited species. That means it is illegal harvest or possess them. Goliaths that are reeled in must be returned to the water “free, alive and unharmed,” the state’s website says.

No similar protections are in place for fishing enthusiasts, their gear or their catches. The geographic noted the grouper managed to bend Shepard’s spear so badly it will no longer load.

YouTube screenshot