Monster Monkfish Caught mid Meal From Ocean Depths

A monster monkfish has been caught mid meal from the ocean depths off the coast of Australia.

The picture, posted to Facebook by Sydney-based fisherman "Trapman Bermagui," shows a bizarre looking sea creature that was caught by a trawler off Bermagui, on the southeast coast of Australia.

The fish was caught at a depth of 459 feet. The fish in the photo has a black mouth with a row of teeth, with a slimy, texturized skin. It appears to be mid meal, with a silver fish hanging from its mouth.

"Could this be the Australian version of a Monk Fish???" the fisherman said in a caption to the photo.

Monkfish live in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean, from Newfoundland, Canada, to North Carolina. They have also been spotted off the Gulf of Mexico and along the coast of Barbados. In Australia, monkfish are known as "Stargazer." It is sometimes referred to as "poor man's lobster," because it resembles the crustacean meat.

"It definitely looks like a monkfish and a few experts agree. Certainly, looks the same as a monkfish picture," the fisherman told Newsweek.

He said monkfish "sure do" always look this strange.

Stargazer fish can also be found widely across the coastal areas of New Zealand. They are particularly abundant around the southern part of the South Island at depths of 160 to 1,640 feet.

The species usually feed off smaller fish, crabs and other crustaceans.

Commenting on Trapman Bermagui's post, users on Facebook agreed that it must be a monkfish, with one writing: "I've done a lot of work with monkfish in Europe and that is definitely a variety of monkfish."

Other Facebook users expressed surprise at the fish's strange appearance.

"He has a great personality though so stop judging," one user said, while another said that it "looks moldy bro."

One Facebook user said this catch was "just in time for Halloween."

"Howd a fish become a burn victim in the ocean," one person said, and another said it was a "mother-in-law fish."

"You caught an alien," a Facebook user said.

Trapman Bermagui regularly posts about his life at sea to his Facebook page. He recently caught another Stargazer fish.

In another photograph posted to his Facebook page, the fisherman said: "Another locally caught Star Gazer. This one has some real attitude."

Around 18 months ago, the fisherman also caught a juvenile baby great white shark after removing it from a hook.

The fisherman posted a picture of in holding the predator in his hands, shortly after the rescue.

"The time I got to release a baby White Shark back to its home after removing a hook," the fisherman said in a Facebook post, reminiscing on the experience. "Such a weird feeling to hold such an iconic animal, that can grow well over a ton in weight and pushing 20 feet. I wonder where she is today, 18 months later."