Ocean City fisherman makes rare moonfish catch

A Maryland fishing party may have made a rare catch — a 105-pound (47-kilogram) opah, or moonfish.

Local news outlets report Capt. Austin Ensor and his three crew members set sail Sunday and are believed to have caught the moonfish off Ocean City.

Ensor said they had just caught an 80-pound (36-kilogram) swordfish when the fish grabbed their bait. After over an hour, they reeled it in.

According to the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, the moonfish can be found in open waters in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, but catching one is rare off the East Coast.

Gregg Bortz with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources said the department could not confirm the catch or if it was the first time an opah had been caught in Maryland.

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