Maryland woman stabbed by 100-pound sailfish that leaped out of water off Florida coast – USA TODAY

STUART, Fla. — A 70-year-old woman was stabbed by the bill of a 100-pound sailfish that leaped out of the water and attacked her as her companions were trying to reel it in on a boat near the Florida coast, authorities said.

The sailfish stabbed the woman, identified as Katherine Perkins, from Arnold, Maryland, in the groin area with its pointed bill on Tuesday while she was standing in the boat as two companions tried to bring it in on a fishing line about two miles offshore from Stuart, Florida, according to a report from the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.

The companions applied pressure to the wound, and the woman was taken to Stuart for medical treatment.

The woman told deputies that the attack happened so fast that she didn’t have time to react, according to the sheriff’s office report.

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Sailfish are among the fastest fish species in the ocean, and they can swim over 60 miles per hour. Like the swordfish, they are recognizable by their extended, pointed bills. They can grow up to 11-feet-long and weigh up to 220 pounds, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Contributing: Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY