Fish kills man!!

[budak]

Personally I think the fish is more likely a gar.... 7 kg seems small for a sword fish....

<b>Malaysian killed by swordfish</b>

By Jonathan Kent
BBC, Kuala Lumpur

A man has died in Malaysia after being attacked by a swordfish.
Azlieman Mantinpan succumbed to his wounds after the incident near the northern tip of Malaysian Borneo.

Mr Azlieman, a 30-year-old mechanic, was on a fishing trip off Kampung Limau Limauan, near the town of Kudat, when he was fatally wounded.

Police sources said he was swimming in the sea with friends when the 7kg swordfish leapt out of the water and struck him in the chest.

According to police, the nearest hospital was more than 50km away, and Mr Azlieman bled to death before he could be treated.

This is the first such incident for five years. In 1999 a fisherman died near Kota Baru on the east coast of peninsular Malaysia, when a 2kg flying fish lanced him in the side, puncturing his lungs.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asi...ic/3558018.stm

[XnSdVd]

but how could a gar cause a man to bleed to death? they've got teeth not pointy swords...

[budak]

There are not your freshwater gars. Totally different orders. These are so-called marine gars or needle fish with very stiff, sharp snouts.

http://habitatnews.nus.edu.sg/guideb...h/text/243.htm

http://www.aloha.com/~lifeguards/needle.html

http://www.eco-bahia.org/img/peces/a...nneshians).jpg

http://www.who.int/entity/water_sani...we1-chap11.pdf

[Johnc]

Yeah... these needle fish are often mistakenly called swordfish. Years past, fishermen would catch these by building fences with banana trunks, and then making the fish jump using a combination of light and sound. But this fish is quite tasteless.

[nostalgia]

Isn't there a story abt this needle fish thing.. and bukit merah? I think I read some story abt the banana trunks story to trap these fishes.... can't remember ..... anyone else read this tale during childhood?

[Justikanz]

Yo, bro... You are too late lah, discussion on that LONG over and done with. No more Bt Merah and banana trunks. That is OT liao...

[nostalgia]

Aiya! Late! Any idea what's the thread name for that? Want to search for it... I'm curious to know the storyline again! Hahahahaha

[GaspingGurami]

The supposed "swordfish" is what the Malays call Ikan Todak. Inshore here in Singapore, they grow to around 1 meter in length (can see them around the pylons of Bedok Jetty and Labrador Park Jetty), pelagic ones I've fished offshore can be as large as 2 metres.

They have a bony, short and stiff bill with a row needle-like teeth along each edge.

The green backed type is not tasty, but the pelagic blue backed type taste much nicer. When cooked, they both have freaky coloured green and blue bones respectively. The Japanese serve them raw, which is quite nice, but I hesitate to sashimi those I fish from local waters. (Eat imported fish, release local catches).

These fish are excellent game on light tackle, qualifying for the title "Poor man's Marlin". They'd jump and tailwalk on the water just like a hooked black marlin would. I fish them without a hook, so I can make an injury-less release at boatside.

I remember the time the Malay boatman shouting at me to turn off the torchlight one night just off the coast of Trengganu. According to him, the todak school will charge at the source of the light, like a hail of arrows aimed at us.

In reality, I believe it is much less dramatic. It's probably a todak being startled at the light taking flight and accidentally piercing the unfortunate fisherman. But 7kg seem large for even a pelagic todak. So it might be a juvenile sailfish.

[XnSdVd]

Oh yeah... now that you mention it, I had a small halfbeak-like fish jump into my boat once during a night race. I had red and blue lightsticks to mark the left and right sides of the boat. Interesting way to fish....