Watch a Blue Marlin Beach Itself at Rincon, Puerto Rico
by Owen James Burke
It is extremely rare to see blue marlin in the shallows. Screenshot from Angela Brill’s YouTube video.
Blue marlin (Makaira nigricans), as many know, are a large, open water pelagic fish, rarely seen in the shallows, or hard up on the sand for that matter, but, when temptation arises, they’ll spare no expense for a meal. Unfortunately, it appears that this fish was unwell, and continued sporadically flailing in the surf until it died.
Screenshot from Angela Brill’s YouTube video.
It’s not entirely clear as to whether or not the fish was sick, had been previously hooked, or was chasing ballyhoo, a small baitfish and staple diet of the blue marlin, but according to YouTube user Angela Brill, the fish was intent on ending its life then and there:
“…it just kept on [like that] until it died… The locals said it must have been sick. We snorkelled with it dead for a few days before it was removed from the water.”