During a fishing trip in Apollo Bay on the Surf Coast, brothers Peter, Michael, and Andreas Salloum, together with their cousin, had an unexpected encounter with a southern bluefin tuna.
The group of four spent two hours battling to reel in the enormous fish.
“We were all completely astonished,” Michael shared with 9News.
“Even our charter captain couldn’t believe it,” he added.
Southern bluefin tuna are highly sought after worldwide, sometimes commanding prices as high as $683 per kilogram. Nonetheless, recreational anglers in Australia are not allowed to sell their catches.
The brothers have shared their monster trophy among family and friends.
“Some of it is in our freezer, some of it is in our bellies and some of it has been eaten by our friends and family,” Michael said.
“Definitely something we’ll remember, a hundred kilos is not something you catch every day,” Peter said.
A 243-kilogram bluefin tuna sold for a record 510 million yen ($4.47 million) at a Tokyo market in January.