What would you do if you came face to face with a five-foot-plus cephalopod?
For the layman, this is the species of animal that comprises octopuses and squids.
For most of us, this would not be for consideration at all; but for fishermen St Clair Leslie and Roy Thompson, it was exactly the question they had to answer.
“We went snapper fishing from Wednesday. And on Thursday we had small squid as bait when this [cephalopod] came biting,” said Leslie.
And he was all for hauling it up, but partner Thompson had a different view.
“If that start crawling ’bout the boat, next thing you hear two men missing at sea?” he said.
In a compromise, they trapped it, bringing it ashore boat-side yesterday.
Here, Thompson (left) and Leslie displaying the large squid they caught on Thursday. (CA)