FISHERMAN Liam Hale has won $10,000 after catching the first of 76 fish tagged as part of a tourism promotion in the Northern Territory.
According to an article on the ABC website, the fish was caught at West Arm in Darwin Harbor as part of the Million Dollar Fish competition.
“I can’t even think anymore. It is very surreal,” Mr Hale told media on Saturday after his prize was confirmed.
He almost missed out on the fish, after his line became tangled with his son’s, who had hooked a catfish at about the same time, but they were able to free the lines.
“When we got it in the boat… it was covered in algae so we thought it was an old fisheries tag and when I pulled the algae off I saw Million Dollar competition written on it,” he said.
Mr Hale’s son, Kai, said it was “very, very exciting” to be on board the boat when they landed the fish.
“We weren’t expecting to catch a $10,000 barra at all,” he said.
As part of the competition, which runs until February 29, 2016, anglers that register can win $10,000 if they catch one of 75 tagged barramundi, with another tagged fish worth $1 million for the person who catches it. The fish were released over an area of about 374,000 square kilometres across the Top End.
