See: $2.8M Record Prize Won for Big Fish

OCEAN CITY, MD – Here’s a whopper of a fish tale: a $2.8 million prize was paid to a Florida boat in last week’s 43rd annual White Marlin Open held in Ocean City, MD.

The Kallianassa, a boat from Naples, FL, won $2.818 million for catching a 76.5-pound white marlin, the only one of that species that met the tournament's qualifying standards. It is the first $2 million fish in the tournament's history.

Angler Phil Heasley landed the two-million-dollar marlin, according to the tournament website.

The tourney was held Aug. 8-12.

The fish that are weighed in for the tournament — 23 white marlin total were weighed in last week, in addition to others — are filleted, and most of the meat is donated to a local food bank in Maryland.

In Ocean City, MD, last week, at the White Marlin Open, they had a record payout for a fish. The winning white marlin, all 76.5 pounds of it, collected a payout of $2.8 million for the owner and crew of the winning boat. It is the largest payout ever for a fish.

Patch Editor Karen Wall contributed to this story.

»Photo of $2.818 million prize marlin caught by the Kallianassa, courtesy of White Marlin Open