After a lot of effort, Ah Can and the others reeled in all the fishing lines before Feng Ye finally managed to play the fish and pull it out of the water, where it lay belly up on the sea beside the boat.
He breathed a sigh of relief; although the process was a bit difficult, at least he hadn't let it get away.
He poked his head out over the gunwale and looked out at the sea, wondering what kind of fish it was and whether it was worth his hard work.
When his gaze fell on the fish that was upside down, his eyes widened instantly.
"Holy crap, a giant grouper!"
He could hardly believe his eyes, so he rubbed them again and looked at them carefully.
Indeed, the black spots covering its entire body and its enormous size clearly indicate that it is a giant grouper.
"Giant grouper" is actually a general term. For example, the black-spotted grouper is also called the golden grouper, and there is also the pearl grouper, which is bred by crossbreeding tiger grouper (female) and giant grouper (male).
They all have in common that they are huge and their scales are covered by their skin.
However, in China, "dragon grouper" specifically refers to the saddle-shaped grouper, also known as the giant grouper or pig cake grouper, which is the type that Feng Ye caught.
Grouper is a prized delicacy from the ocean and is considered the top of the four famous fish in Southeast Asia.
They mostly hide in coral reefs and do not easily show themselves. They grow relatively slowly, and giant grouper that are over 60 centimeters in size have lived in the sea for more than 20 years. They are very intelligent and extremely difficult to catch.
As a result, wild giant grouper are scarce and expensive.
Moreover, the giant grouper is the largest species in the grouper family, hence it is also known as the "King of Groupers".
Wild species typically weigh over 30 to 40 kilograms, but this is not the limit; they often weigh over 100 kilograms, and it is common for giant grouper to weigh several hundred kilograms.
The largest recorded capture of a giant grouper weighed an astonishing 640 jin (approximately 320 kg) and was about 2.4 meters long, estimated to be 200 years old.
The one that Feng Ye caught probably weighs only about 50 pounds, so it's just a small baby.
"What? A giant grouper?"
Upon hearing Feng Ye's exclamation, Ah Can quickly dropped the fishing hook he was baiting and ran over.
Fang Yi and the other two had never heard of Long Dun before, so they weren't too surprised, but they still turned to look.
"Yes, it's a grouper, but it's a bit small."
Feng Ye nodded firmly, his face beaming with joy.
Ah-Can peeked out and his eyes widened in disbelief: "Holy crap, it really is a giant grouper!"
"Go and get the net quickly, lest it get away by accident."
Feng Ye urged, as he was genuinely worried that the giant grouper might struggle and break the fishing line when it was pulled onto the boat; a landing net would make things much safer.
"I'll go right away."
Ah-chan immediately turned and ran towards the cabin, his heart filled with excitement.
Just this one grouper alone makes today's trip worthwhile.
A moment later, Ah-Can came out carrying a large, long-handled net, dipped it into the water, scooped up the entire grouper, and then pulled it up with force.
As soon as the giant grouper left the water, it began to struggle violently, twisting its massive body in an attempt to escape its restraints.
Feng Ye thought to himself, "That was close." If he had pulled it up directly, it might have really gotten away.
He quickly lowered the fishing line and reached out to help.
With their combined efforts, the giant grouper was quickly dragged onto the ship and thrown onto the deck.
Wang Teng exclaimed, "Wow, such a big fish, and it's actually a bit small? How big do you consider a fish to be big?"
"Yeah, it looks bigger than the yellowfin tuna I caught yesterday."
Fang Yi's eyes widened in astonishment.
Although Zhang Qiang didn't say anything, his expression was similar.
They had actually believed Feng Ye when he said it was a bit small, but they never expected it to be this big.
Looking back now, they realize that Feng Ye was practically Versailles to the extreme.
After all, in their eyes, this giant grouper was already spectacular enough.
Seeing the surprised expressions on everyone's faces, Feng Ye smiled slightly and explained, "Adult giant groupers are huge, some weighing several hundred kilograms. Compared to them, this one is just a tiny speck, which is why I said it's a bit small."
"So that's how it is."
Fang Yi and the others then realized what was going on.
"Although this giant grouper is small, it is still very rare."
Feng Ye continued, "The giant grouper is also a type of grouper. Its flesh is delicious and nutritious, and its taste is better than that of ordinary grouper, so it is expensive."
"Which is more expensive, it or the Swallowtail Star?" Fang Yi asked curiously.
"Of course, the grouper is definitely more expensive," Ah-Can interjected excitedly.
Feng Ye added, "The large production of grouper has affected the price, while giant grouper is more difficult to catch, and its scarcity drives up the price."
Fang Yi, Wang Teng, and Zhang Qiang nodded in agreement, gaining a better understanding of the value of the giant grouper.
"Ah Can, let's take this big guy to the live water tank and see if we can keep him alive."
The water here is relatively shallow, and it's slow to pull them up. The giant grouper didn't bloat its swim bladder and expel its internal organs, so perhaps we could try raising it in a live water tank.
However, before that, in order to increase the chances of survival, he still used a long needle to prick the belly of the giant grouper.
The two men lifted the giant grouper and threw it into the live water tank, then busied themselves baiting the hooks and throwing them into the sea.
Ah-Can and the others stopped hand-fishing and tied their fishing lines to the side of the boat.
Fishing in a series at once is much more efficient than using a single fishing line.
They don't have to wait long before they bite the hook one after another, and often they bite all at once, making it impossible to reel them in.
Sure enough, not long after, ripples appeared on the sea again, and the fishing line started to move again.
Feng Ye glanced at it and said with a smile, "We're really lucky; the fish are very willing to bite."
Ah-Can happened to be next to one of the jiggling fishing lines and casually lifted it up. Not feeling much resistance, he said with some disappointment, "It's not heavy, it's a small fish."
Feng Ye, who was also holding a line, couldn't help but shake his head: "Don't be too greedy. It's good enough if any fish bite. Do you expect every single one to be a big fish?"
The one he was holding wasn't very big either; he estimated it wouldn't weigh more than two pounds.
"I'd like to, but the problem is the big fish aren't biting."
Ah-Can glanced casually at the fish he had pulled up, then suddenly froze, his eyes widening in shock: "Holy crap, a stone clam!"
"Huh? Grouper? What kind of grouper?"
Feng Ye didn't hear clearly and asked in confusion.
At the same time, turning his head, he saw a light brown fish hanging on the hook. It had nothing to do with grouper and looked more like a sea bream.
You must be referring to the stone clam fish, right?
Although he couldn't recognize the type of sea bream from the distance, he quickly realized what it was.
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