THOOTHUKUDI: A country boat fisherman from Periyathalai caught a giant oceanic manta ray weighing a whopping 1,080 kg on Monday. Joseph and his fellow fishermen had to drag the fishing net to the shore as the ‘Yanai Thirukkai’ was ensnared in it, and they could not pull the fish onboard.
Joseph said the manta ray was caught around 10 nautical miles off the shore. Given its large size, they pulled the fish to the shore as they could not lift it to the boat, reminiscing one of the scene from Ernest Hemingway’s ‘The Old Man and The Sea’.
Fishers were overjoyed to see such a large catch, and a crane was used to lift the manta ray and weigh it.
One Sesu of Periyathalai said they had never seen such a huge catch previously, adding that the manta ray was auctioned for Rs 56,000.