Crew find fish that swallowed colleague
By GREG ROBERTS BRISBANE
Thursday 31 August 2000
A huge fish that swallowed the head of a missing fisherman was caught by his
former crewmates on the boat from which he fell.
Michael Peter Edwards, 39, vanished shortly after 1am on Sunday when he fell
from the Cairns-based boat, the Loray, near Slashers Reef, 90 kilometres
north-east of Townsville, while it was anchored.
Police were dispatched immediately to the boat, which remained anchored in
the same spot until the search was called off about midday on Monday. No
trace of Mr Edwards was found.
According to police sources, the crew, although distressed, decided to fish
for the remainder of Monday afternoon before returning to Cairns.
"The fishing out there was excellent," said Mr Graeme Hopkirk, manager of
Cairns fish wholesaler Fine Kettle O'Fish. "As soon as they threw a line in,
something would grab it." Among the catch was a 44-kilogram, 1.6-metre
estuary cod. Police sources said it was bought by Fine Kettle O'Fish on
Tuesday.
Preliminary forensic tests of the head yesterday were inconclusive, but
police sources said there is no doubt about its identity. There were no
suspicious circumstances.
The Queensland Museum's assistant fish curator, Jeff Johnson, said the head
was most probably the remains of a body which had been dismembered by
sharks, which habitually follow trawlers.
Mr Johnson said the large cod species have "voluminous" mouths. "They are
not fussy. They'll eat anything alive or dead, as long as it is smaller than
them," he said.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|