Sailfish Sends Woman to the Hospital in Florida

70-year-old is stabbed by the bill of the fish as it was being reeled in
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jul 24, 2022 8:12 AM CDT
Sailfish Sends Woman to the Hospital in Florida
Stock image of a sailfish.   (Getty/suriyasilsaksom)

A 70-year-old woman was stabbed by the bill of a 100-pound sailfish that leapt out of the water as her companions were trying to reel it in on a boat near the Florida coast, authorities said. The sailfish stabbed the woman from Arnold, Maryland, in the groin area with its pointed bill on Tuesday while she was standing in the boat as two companions tried to bring it in on a fishing line about two miles offshore from Stuart, Florida, according to a report from the Martin County Sheriff's Office, per the AP.

The companions applied pressure to the wound, and the woman was taken to Stuart for medical treatment. The woman told deputies that the incident happened so fast that she didn't have time to react, according to the sheriff's office report. Sailfish are among the fastest fish species in the ocean and, like the swordfish, are recognizable by their extended, pointed bills.

(More fishing stories.)

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