Yes, someone has caught the $1 million barramundi: 19-year-old Keegan Payne reeled in the prize fish in April 2024 in the Northern Territory's Million Dollar Fish competition, becoming the first person to win the top prize in the competition's history. He caught the tagged barramundi in the Katherine River, a life-changing moment for the teen who plans to help his family and buy a new boat.
A 19-YEAR-OLD man from Katherine in the Northern Territory has snagged the catch of a lifetime, reeling in a tagged barramundi worth $1 million in Australia's richest fishing competition.
The world record for the largest Barramundi🐟 caught on rod and reel is 98 pounds, 7 ounces (44.64 kg), caught in 2010 at Lake Monduran in Queensland, Australia.
The Million Dollar Fish has been running since 2015 and is the richest fishing comp in the country. Each year, prize-tagged barra are set loose across Arnhem Land, Darwin, Kakadu, Katherine and the Tiwi Islands. Land the right red tag and you could pocket up to a million bucks!
The annual competition was first introduced in 2015 in the Northern Territory giving fishos the opportunity to reel in a prize-tagged barramundi including the chance to catch a million dollar tagged fish! The competition continues to grow in size and value with more prize-tagged fish released each year.
“Sportsbet Fish Tag” means a tag that is professionally attached to a barramundi fish by NTMEC's independent contractor. The tag is red in colour, bears the words “Million Dollar Fish Competition”, and displays a unique numeric codes as advertised on the Website from time to time.
Fish worth a million dollars are typically rare, high-quality bluefin tuna sold at Japan's New Year auctions for prestige and good fortune, or exceptionally rare Japanese koi bred for unique colors and patterns, with recent sales reaching over $3 million for tuna and $1.8 million for koi. These prices reflect cultural value, culinary demand, and the fish's status as a collector's item rather than just food.
There have been barramundi recorded at over 35 years of age, though a maximum age of 20 years is more normal. General sizes are: one year old - 30cm to 40cm long. two years old - 50cm to 60cm long.
The long-standing IGFA world record of 98 pounds, 12 ounces, caught off New Hampshire in 1969, was topped in April 2013 off the Norwegian island of Soroya. That fish weighed 103 pounds, 10 ounces.
The Million Dollar Fish competition was first introduced in 2015 to boost visitation and to give fishos the chance to reel in prize-tagged barramundi. Renowned as Australia's richest fishing competition, Million Dollar Fish continues to grow in size and value with more prize-tagged fish released each year.
The Better Fish® Barramundi are raised in the ocean, 12 miles offshore in the pristine waters of Van Phong Bay in Central Vietnam.
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In Broome, the average weight of a Barramundi is 20kg, with the average length being 100cm. They are known for their predatory nature and are able to adapt to a variety of environments.
In rare deep-sea footage recorded by a Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) near an offshore oil platform, observers documented a tuna estimated at nearly 18 feet in length. For perspective, Atlantic bluefin tuna usually grow 6–8 feet long, with record individuals near 13 feet.
A 30cm bream, particularly species like black bream, is typically around 8 to 10 years old, as they are slow-growing fish that often reach this legal minimum size after nearly a decade, with some studies suggesting it takes about 9 years to reach 28cm. Older, larger bream can be significantly older, with fish over 40cm sometimes being 14 to 18 years old or even older.
Bluefin tuna sells for record $3.2 million at year-opening auction at Tokyo fish market. TOKYO (AP) — A massive 243-kilogram (535-pound) bluefin tuna sold for a record 510 million yen ($3.2 million) at the first auction of 2026 at Tokyo's Toyosu fish market.
According to IGFA records, the largest fish ever caught was a great white shark that weighed an unbelievable 2,664 pounds (1,208.389 kg.). Caught off the coast of Ceduna, Australia, in 1959, it took angler Alfred Dean just 50 minutes to win the fight against this one-ton shark.
The results were sobering: The southern Gulf cod stock will be extirpated (local extinction defined as less than 0.3% of the species' original biomass) within 20 years if limited fishing is allowed. Even if the fishery is completely closed, the stock will hit rock bottom in 38 years.
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The most ginormous Murray cod ever caught was 'fridge' sized. This whopper was 1.8 metres long and weighed 113.6 kilograms! Found in 1902, the ginormous Murray cod may have been between 76 and 114 years of age. So it may have begun its life in 1788.
The Fisheries Act 1902 (NSW) ( DOC0358 ) recognised Aboriginal fishing by exempting Aboriginal people from certain regulations. It expressly permitted Aboriginal people to take undersized oysters from public oyster reserves, as well as undersized fish, provided they were mature enough and for personal consumption.
Whether it be their genetics or due to the cold conditions they live in and more, there are a lot of species that live for decades, if not longer. One species known for its long lifespan is the rougheye rockfish, a deep-sea fish which can live for over 200 years.
The world record for the largest Barramundi🐟 caught on rod and reel is 98 pounds, 7 ounces (44.64 kg), caught in 2010 at Lake Monduran in Queensland, Australia.
In Tokyo's Toyosu fish market, a giant bluefin tuna was sold at auction for $3.2 million. “It's in part for good luck,” the winning bidder told the Associated Press. “But when I see a good-looking tuna, I cannot resist ... I haven't sampled it yet, but it's got to be delicious.”
Why is the Devils Hole Pupfish so Rare? Twice annually for the past 50 years, scientists have conducted population surveys on the Devils Hole pupfish. Counts ranged from a high of 550 to a low of just 35 total. In 2022 and 2023's spring count, the population reached a 22-year high at just 175 pupfish.
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