Monster 'Shrimp' Bagged by Florida Fisherman

A fishing trip in Fort Pierce took an unusual turn recently when a man pulled a monster ”shrimp” up from the waters below.

Nearby fisherman Steve Bargeron watched as the man pulled the creature from the water.

“Steve said the massive thing was about 18 inches long and striking its own tail, so he grabbed it by its back like a lobster,” the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Facebook page stated. “Scientists think it may be some type of mantis shrimp.”

Mantis shrimp are stomatopods that are raptorial predators by nature, the University of California’s Museum of Paleontology website says. They are known for being fierce protectors of their underwater burrows and are “one of the few predators on the deadly blue-ring octopus.”

“The experience was quite crazy,” Bargeron wrote in an email interview.

The fellow fisherman left the creature hooked and brought it up to the light so Bargeron could see it better.

“I had no clue what it was either, only that it was like nothing I had ever seen and aggressively striking at this hook in its tail,” he wrote. “I snapped a couple of pics and grabbed its back like a lobster. I unhooked the hook from its tail and released it alive back into the water.”

What Bargeron didn’t know at the time is that a mantis shrimp of that size can actually break a grown man’s hand and cause other serious injuries.

He asked that others please be warned “of their aggressive and harmful nature.”

Bargeron also noted that at the time he didn’t know how “delicious” they are. He learned that later through Facebook. The crustaceans are considered a delicacy in some circles.

Photo Credit: This monster shrimp was hooked in waters off Fort Pierce. Photo by Steve Bargeron

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