The seer was later auctioned for B55,000 with the raised money being donated to the currently under construction Chalong Hospital and children’s scholarships.
The fishing tournament was officially launched yesterday night (Mar 25) at Saphan Hin with the opening ceremony being led by Phuket Vice Governor Thawornwat Kongkaew. He was joined by Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwansuppana, President of Phuket Fishing Club Korkiat Unhawaitaya, Phuket City Municipality Chief Administrative Officer (Palad) Thawatchai Thongmang and others.
The team that caught the biggest weight of fish at the end of the tournament received B20,000 in cash and a trophy.
Mr Korkiat said, “The highlight of the tournament was a big seer fish caught by a team called ‘Tee Noi’ who were fishing from the ‘Sang Arun’ raft. The fish weighed 72.5kg.
“This seer fish is the biggest of its kind ever caught in Thailand and the third biggest in Asia. We are very proud of this statistic,” he said.
“This type of fish is very common in Mexico and Panama or in the Pacific Ocean as it lives in deep waters. It is not usually found in shallow waters. It has been reported that seer fish have been found in other countries but they have never been brought up from the sea,” Mr Korkiat added.
“The fish was in shallow waters at ‘kongmataff’ which is between the Racha Noi and the Racha Yai islands.
“We hope more Thais and foreigners get interested in sports fishing and join this big tournament. This is a great way to support marine tourism,” Mr Korkiat added.
Mr Thawatchai said, “This is the forth year Phuket City Municipality has supported this fishing tournament. There were 127 people joined the tournament this year which is up on last year. More people are expected to join the tournament in the future and this will help Phuket’s tourism and economy.