A Woman Got Stabbed By A Sailfish While She Was Fishing In Florida & It Was 100 lbs
She was flown to a nearby hospital.
A sailfish being held by someone.
A woman was visiting Florida from Maryland, and while on her trip to the Sunshine State, she went on a fishing expedition and the fishermen on her boat caught a sailfish... well, almost.
They tried to catch the animal until it leaped out of the water and actually stabbed the Marylander, Katherine Perkins, on July 19 off the coast of Stuart, Florida, according to USA Today.
Perkins, reportedly in her early 70s, was flown to HCA FloridaLawnwood Hospital soon after she was hit in her groin. NBC News reports that her medical status is unclear, though the other two guests were not injured.
While sailfish attacks aren't extremely common, they do happen. They have such a sharp bill that they can impale humans as a defensive attack.
Visit Florida writes that the best cities to fish for them are Fort Pierce, Jupiter, West Palm Beach, Jensen Beach and Stuart, which is considered the Sailfish capital of the world.
These kinds of fish are considered the fastest in the ocean and can go as fast as 70 mph. They are also the top predators of the ocean and the largest one ever caught was 220 pounds, according to Oceana.
With a proper license, Sailfish is not illegal to keep if they are over 5 feet, though most fishermen have a catch and release policy.
The coast where the victim was injured is located on the Treasure Coast of Florida, just north of West Palm Beach near Port St. Lucie.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.