SYDNEY, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- Fisherman are often known to exaggerate the size of their catch in order to tell a good story, but for one Western Australian fisherman no tall tales are necessary.
Skipper of a local fishing charter, Eddy Lawler, spent New Year's Day reeling in a 494-kilogram blue marlin in waters off the coast of Exmouth and on Tuesday evening, around 500 people from the small town gathered at the Exmouth Game Fishing Club to see the monster fish officially weighed.
The fishing-mad residents were not disappointed.
Lawler's giant marlin eclipsed the previous record, caught off the east coast of Australia in 1999 by over 40 kilograms.
Recently, the waters off Exmouth have proved to be quite the spot for recreational fisherman.
Back in 2014, a 369-kilogram blue marlin made headlines as the largest of its species caught in the state and now tourism operators and local businesses are hoping the latest catch will see anglers flock to what is fastly becoming known as a game fishing hot spot.
"This is a fish that will cement Exmouth's reputation as a world-class Marlin fishery," fishing body Recfishwest said in statement.
"Apart from being an excellent capture, a fish of this size is extremely important to fisheries science."
Recfishwest said the catch will help provide vital insights into blue marlin age, growth rates, feeding behaviors and population dynamics, which allow ocean authorities to better manage and understand the species.
But according to the Secretary of the Game Fishing Association of Australia, Peter Coote, Lawler's half-ton ocean beast may not be officially recognized as the world's biggest for another three months.
"We actually need to do quite a lot of investigating before it is given the record," he explained to Xinhua.
"We need to verify that all the equipment used meets the rules for game fishing in Australia and internationally and that actually involves some testing."
