AZGFD

The Arizona Game and Fish Department reports:

PHOENIX – Eddie “Flathead Ed” Wilcoxson was asleep on the fold-out cot of his 24-foot pontoon boat on Friday, April 12, when what would become a state record flathead catfish began taking drag at Bartlett Lake.

About 35 minutes later, at 2:37 a.m., Wilcoxson, 56, boated what Arizona Game and Fish Department officials verified is a 76.52-pound flathead catfish. It measured 53.5 inches in total length with a 34.75-inch girth.

It also became the heaviest recorded fish of any species in state history, topping the 74-pound flathead catfish caught in 1988 out of the Colorado River by Walter Wilson of Bard, Calif. …

“Everybody’s got the same chance I do,” Wilcoxson said. “You just have to get out and do it.”

Read more and see more images at AZGFD.gov

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Naval Forces West via Reuters

Twelve Chinese fishermen were charged with poaching offenses on Wednesday after their vessel ran aground on Tubbataha Reef, a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Philippines. According to the Philippines' GMA News, the fishermen could face up to 12 years in prison under Filipino law.

The USS Guardian, a U.S. Navy minesweeper, was grounded on the same reef in January.

Philippine Coast Guard via Reuters

A member of the Philippine Coast Guard, left, talks to Chinese fishermen aboard their vessel on April 9, 2013.

Ted Aljibe / AFP - Getty Images

A protester donning a snorkel and holding placards attends a rally in front of the Chinese consular office in the financial district of Manila on April 10, 2013, after a Chinese fishing vessel ran aground off Tubbataha reef, around 1,000 miles from China's nearest major landmass.

Related:

South Korean coast guard clashes with armada of Chinese fishing boats

Joe Imel / Daily News via AP

A Bowling Green, Ky., firefighter careens through the rapids of the Barren River on April 1, after trying to assist in the rescue of two teenage fishermen.

Joe Imel / Daily News via AP

A Bowling Green, Ky., firefighter is rescued by a fellow firefighter after he careened through the rapids of the Barren River, on April 1 during a river rescue.

Joe Imel / Daily News via AP

Zack Sowders and Gage Lee, both 16, of Bowling Green, Ky., wait to be rescued on April 1, after their boat overturned in the rapids of the Barren River while they were fishing.

A Bowling Green Fire Department firefighter became trapped in Kentucky’s Barren River as he attempted to assist in the rescue of two teenage fishermen that were stranded in the rapids after their boat overturned.  

The Bowling Green Daily News reported:

The strong current caused the rescue worker to be pulled across the rocky terrain, BGFD spokeswoman Marlee Boenig said. The man, whose name was not released, suffered an ankle injury during the incident.

“He was stuck and when he broke loose, I guess the current pulled him,” Boenig said. Continue reading.

Rescue workers were on the scene for about 90 minutes and managed to pull the teens to safety without further incident.

Stuart Price / AU-UN IST via AFP - Getty Images

A man carrying a large sailfish to the fish market in the Xamar Weyne district of Mogadishu, Somalia, on March 16, 2013.

Stuart Price / AU-UN IST via AFP - Getty Images

Men looking out across a harbor in Mogadishu early on the morning of March 16, 2013.

Stuart Price / AU-UN IST via Reuters

Freshly caught tuna fish are lined up for sale inside Mogadishu's fish market on March 16, 2013.

The relative peace that has prevailed in Mogadishu over recent months was shattered by a car bomb that killed at least ten people in the Somali capital on Monday.

But for Somalia's fishermen, the outlook remains promising. Their country boasts a longer coastline than any other nation in mainland Africa, with the bountiful waters of the Indian Ocean offering a plentiful potential harvest, but two decades of civil strife have greatly restricted the development of the fishing industry.

Each morning, an eclectic catch is unloaded and transported to the city's Xamar Weyne fish market, where it is sold for local consumption and, increasingly, for export to other countries.  

Stuart Price / AU-UN IST via AFP - Getty Images

A man carrying a large sailfish to the fish market in the Xamar Weyne district of Mogadishu on March 16, 2013.

Editor's note: These images were released on March 18, 2013 by the African Union-United Nations Information Support Team, which is affiliated to the African Union Mission in Somalia.

Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images

Angler Billy Carmichael casts during the opening of the salmon fishing season on the River Tay on Jan. 15 in Kenmore, Scotland. A procession with a pipe band and anglers made its way through Kenmore at the east end of Loch Tay to mark the start of the 2012 salmon season on the River Tay.

Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images

An angler casts during the opening of the salmon fishing season on the River Tay on Jan. 15 in Kenmore, Scotland.

Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images

Kiera Gowan, 2, from Pitlochry, holds a fishing net during the opening of the salmon fishing season on the River Tay on Jan. 15 in Kenmore, Scotland.

Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images

An angler casts during the opening of the salmon fishing season on the River Tay on Jan. 15 in Kenmore, Scotland.

Previously on PhotoBlog:

• Protecting Britain’s only herd of reindeer, nestled in Scottish highlands
• Horse loggers forgo heavy machinery to protect nature
• Two pretty views of Loch Lomond, Scotland
• We're gonna golf like it's 1935! The World Hickory Open tees off in Scotland
• Undeterred by jail time, 'The Naked Rambler' is back on the trail

Chinafotopress / Getty Images Contributor

Fishermen pull a net after about 10 hours fishing on the frozen Chagan Lake on Thursday, December 27, 2012 in Songyuan, China. Traditional winter fishing in the Chagan Lake, the biggest freshwater lake in Jilin province, kicked off on Thursday. It usually lasts about two months and has been popular for more than 1,000 years.

Chinafotopress / Getty Images Contributor

Fishermen haul in a large catch in net on the frozen Chagan Lake.

Chinafotopress / Getty Images Contributor

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Hector Retamal / AFP - Getty Images

A fisherman rests on his boat on Xolotlan Lake in Tipitapa, some 12 miles from Nicaragua's capital, on Nov. 16.

Xolotlan Lake, also known as Lake Managua, is one of the largest and most polluted in Nicaragua. Although President Daniel Ortega's administration obtained international funding three years ago to restore the lake back to health, it is still heavily polluted. Hunger and poverty force many Nicaraguans to fish in the contaminated lake, according to Agence France-Presse (article in Spanish).

Hector Retamal / AFP - Getty Images

Nicaraguan Mauro Castillo puts his fishing net away after returning from Xolotlan Lake in Tipitapa, some 12 miles from the capital, on Nov. 24.

Hector Retamal / AFP - Getty Images

A man puts puts the fish he bought from fishermen on Xolotlan Lake on ice, to later sell it in Tipitapa, some 12 miles from the capital, on Nov. 16.

Hector Retamal / AFP - Getty Images

Fish caught in Xolotlan Lake, also known as Lake Managua is sold at a market in Tipitapa, some 12 miles from the capital, on Nov. 16.

Hector Retamal / AFP - Getty Images

Thirty-five-year-old fisherman Adonis Mena, throws his fishing net into the waters of Xolotlan Lake in Tipitapa, some 12 miles from the capital, on Nov. 20.

Related content:

• UN warns progress to reduce hunger has slowed
• Nicaraguans honor patron saint Santo Domingo de Guzman
• Tourists surf Cerro Negro volcano in Nicaragua

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Greg Kahn / Getty Images

Fishermen cast nets for bait fish in the Almendares River before heading out to fish for the day near Havana, Cuba, Nov. 16, 2012. Despite Cuba's fisheries being at critically low levels according to the United Nations, fishermen are still catching enough to make a living.

Greg Kahn / Getty Images

Fishermen haul in a marlin at a dock in Havana, Cuba, Nov. 16.

Greg Kahn / Getty Images

A fisherman repairs his cast net at one of the local fishing docks in Havana, Cuba, Nov. 16.

Greg Kahn / Getty Images

Feral cats crowd a boat in hopes of receiving scraps from fishermen at a dock in Havana, Cuba, Nov. 16.

Greg Kahn / Getty Images

Fishermen help pull a boat into a landing at a local dock in Havana, Cuba, Nov. 16.

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