Who is Katherine Perkins? Florida woman, 73, stabbed in crotch by 100-pound sailfish that leaped out of water
FLORIDA: A 100-pound sailfish leaped out of the water off the coast of Florida and wounded a 73-year-old woman as her fellow mates tried to pull it in. Katherine Perkins of Arnold, Maryland was hurt after the sailfish smacked her in the crotch area with its bill on Tuesday, July 19.
According to a report from the Martin County Sheriff's Office, the attack happened while Perkins was standing in a boat with two friends, who were attempting to pull the fish in on a fishing line to photograph it. According to the sheriff's office, "the sailfish jumped out of the water and stabbed Katherine in the groin area while she was standing next to the center console" of the fishing boat, TC Palm reported.
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As per the sheriff's office, the incident occurred about two miles off the coast of Stuart, Florida, on the state's Atlantic Coast, north of Palm Beach. Perkins' companions, Louis Toth, 75, and Dominic Bellezza, 77, applied pressure to her wound, and she was taken to a hospital for treatment. Her condition was not disclosed.
The woman told deputies the attack happened so fast she did not have time to react. Sailfish is one of the fastest fish species in the ocean and they can swim more than 60 mph. And just like swordfish, they have extended, pointed bills. They can grow up to 11 feet long and weigh up to 220 pounds. In the summer, sailfish migrate inshore to shallow water and spawn near the surface off the coast of southeast Florida.
When spawning, females swim slowly with their dorsal fins above water, accompanied by one or more males, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Florida regulations allow fishermen to take one fish per day with a minimum length of 63 inches, the fish are almost always released.
Attacks by aquatic animals
Florida waters have become highly prone to attacks by aquatic animals, especially sharks. In fact, there have been a surge in shark attacks in the past few months. Earlier on June 29, a 35-year-old woman was attacked in the Florida Keys by a shark. The woman named Lindsay Burns was with her family in the Niles Channel near Tarpon Belly. She jumped from the boat and a large laceration on her leg caused her to surface. Due to the severity of her condition, she was flown to Miami by the county's Trauma Star Helicopter and received a blood transfusion on the way.
Meanwhile, the increase in shark attacks is believed to be linked to the conservation bill from 2019. “The reason why people are interacting with sharks more often this year and more than last year is because of conservation efforts over the years [that] has protected a food source known as the Atlantic Menhaden,” Frank Quevedo, executive director of the South Fork Natural History Museum Shark Research and Education Program, told the New York Post.
