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73-Year-Old Woman Stabbed by 100-Pound Sailfish Off Florida Coast

FISHY BUSINESS

Katherine Perkins told investigators the assault was so quick that she didn’t have time to react.

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Ronald C. Modra/Getty Images

A 73-year-old Maryland woman was stabbed in the groin by a sailfish as two other passengers aboard her vessel attempted to reel in the animal off the Florida coast last week, local authorities said. The incident occurred roughly two miles away from the small city of Stuart on the morning of July 19, according to a report from the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.

Katherine Perkins told investigators that the fish flew out of the water so quickly that she didn’t have time to react, the report said. The two men on the boat, Louis Toth and Dominic Bellezza, said that it appeared as though the sailfish, which they estimated to weigh 100 pounds, had been charging the boat. The pair applied pressure to Perkins’ wound until they were able to dock an hour later, after which she was taken to a nearby hospital. Sailfish are among the fastest fish in the ocean, able to reach speeds of up to 60 miles an hour. They can grow to 11 feet long and weigh 220 pounds once fully grown, according to Florida wildlife officials.

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