Fisherman dragged to death by giant sturgeon
A fisherman in China has been dragged to his death by a half-ton giant sturgeon.
Huang Wu, 58, hooked the fish while out in southern China, but when he tried to retrieve his fishing rod, he was pulled into the water.
The enormous fish dragged Wu around 150ft out into the river, before he disappeared under the water.
Rescuers later found his body washed up on the river bank.
According to the original report in the Daily Mail, Chen Wan, who was fishing alongside him in Nanning, said: "One minute he was chatting to us about what a big fish he had, the next it was the fish that had him."
The Chinese sturgeon is actually listed as critically endangered, but there are reports of them being fished.
It is protected by the Chinese government, and named a "national treasure" much like its mammalian counterpart, the giant panda.
There are several conservation programmes in China, including reserves specifically aimed at the rejuvenation of the species, through release of juveniles in the Yangtze River.
Giant sturgeons can measure up to four metres (13ft) long, and weigh over 450 kg (990lb).
According to shot97.com, one fisherman said: "They might be endangered but an inexperienced angler will be the one who's in trouble if he hooks one of these monsters."
Back in May 2012, a 617kg Kaluga fish (one of the biggest of the sturgeon family) was caught in in Heilongjiang River, at Tongjiang, a city that borders Russia in northeast China, according to the Daily Telegraph.
The Kaluga is a large predatory sturgeon only found in the Heilongjiang River basin. Also known as the river beluga, they are claimed to be the largest freshwater fish in the world, with a maximum size of at least 1,000 kg (2,205lb) and 5.6m (18.6ft).
Chen Lin, the fisherman who caught the fish, said it was the biggest he had ever seen. Chen and his fellow fishermen sent the fish to a local sturgeon breeding station.
See the footage of the enormous catch here:
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