https://www.foxnews.com/great-outdoors/girl-16-record-breaking-goliath-grouper-familyBy Alexandra Deabler | Fox News
Now that’s a catch.
A Farmington, Minn. teenager was in for quite a surprise when she reeled in what turned out to be a world-record-breaking Goliath grouper while vacationing with her family in Florida.
Reegan Werner was on a deep-sea fishing trip with her brother, mother and stepfather near Marco Island on May 31, the Twin Cities Pioneer Press reported. While on the excursion, Werner hooked the fish of a lifetime, which also happened to be her first catch of the day.
“I was, like, in shock pretty much,” said the 115-pound Werner of the 583-pound fish. “My biggest fish before that was a salmon. I was, like, dang, I want to catch another one.”
The impressive catch was lured in after a 15-minute fight, where Werner was able to get it measured — and take a picture with it — before it was released.
In Florida, the Goliath grouper is a protected species and harvesting the fish is prohibited.