That's one big fish. One really big fish. Your typical smaller grouper weighs between three and five pounds, but this is hardly typical. This is a goliath grouper.
As SinoNet (via ShanghaiIst) explains, fishermen recently caught this 683 pound grouper fish near the Spratly Islands. It was then displayed in Dalang in southern China and purchased by a hotel.
Apparently, the record for a fish caught this size is 681 pounds, which is true for the Atlantic goliath grouper, a fish that is now critically endangered. Basic geography tells us that this is a Pacific goliath grouper (well, yeah), which is a separate species, and those fish can get up to 1,000 pounds.
The fish is believed to be critically endangered. It's not clear under what circumstances it was snared (perhaps it got tangled in fishing nets), but a grouper like this probably shouldn't be caught on purpose and sold to hotels for corny photos.
东莞饭店购买683斤巨型石斑 南沙海域出产(组图) [SinoNet via ShanghaiIst]
Photos: 21cn
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