Maryland woman, 73, is impaled in the groin by a 100-pound SAILFISH that leapt out of the ocean
A 73-year-old woman was stabbed by a 100-pound sailfish while fishing with a friend off the Florida coast.
The fish leapt at Katherine Perkins, of Maryland, on Tuesday while she was standing next to the center console of the boat and struck her lower abdomen.
Two local residents rushed to help her, applying pressure to her wounds, as they called 911.
Perkins was admitted to nearby HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital where she was said to be recovering on Thursday.
A 73-year-old woman was stabbed by a 100-pound sailfish while fishing with a friend on Tuesday in Stuart, Florida, a coastal town north of West Palm Beach that is regarded as the sailfish capital of the world (file photo)
Perkins and her fishing companion were in a boat off near Stuart, a coastal town north of West Palm Beach that is regarded as the sailfish capital of the world, when her friend caught the 100-pound sailfish.
The large fish charged at Perkins while her friend was trying to take a picture with it, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to Treasure Coast Newspapers.
‘The sailfish jumped out of the water and stabbed Katherine in the groin area while she was standing next to the center console,’ authorities said.
Stuart residents Louis Toth, 75, and Dominic Bellezza, 77, applied pressure to her wound as she was transported to the hospital.
It is unclear if either of the pair were responsible for reeling in the 100-pounder.
Perkins told a deputy the incident happened so quickly that she didn’t even have time to react.
Perkins and her fishing companion were in a boat off near Stuart (pictured) when the 100-pound fish leapt from the water and impaled her groin
Two local residents rushed to help her, applying pressure to her wounds, as they called 911. Perkins was admitted to nearby HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital (pictured) where she was said to be recovering on Thursday
Sailfish can grow to be 11 feet long and up to 220 pounds. They are strong fighters and known to deep dive and pull drag fishing reels, trying to dislodge fishing hooks.
While sailfish are usually released, Floridians try to fish for them. There is even a tournament which sees many residents from Stuart and nearby Fort Pierce trying to reel sailfish in.
The largest sailfish caught in Florida weighed 126 pounds, according to state records. It was reeled in on June 13, 2009 by Larry Maier off Big Pine Key.
During the Pelican Yacht Club Invitational Billfish Tournament in January 2019, 38 fishing boats caught and released a record 969 sailfish over the course of three days.
Wildlife experts advise that people take pictures of sailfish without pulling them from the water.