{"id":455616,"date":"2026-02-03T11:43:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T11:43:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/455616\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T11:43:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T11:43:12","slug":"fishermans-extremely-rare-sighting-off-aussie-coast-sparks-excitement-never-seen-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/455616\/","title":{"rendered":"Fisherman’s ‘extremely rare’ sighting off Aussie coast sparks excitement: ‘Never seen one’"},"content":{"rendered":"

A fisherman who spends at least 250 days of the year out on the water was treated to an \u201cextremely rare\u201d encounter off the Aussie coast<\/a> over the weekend. Paul Lennon and his charter guests put down their fishing rods in awe on Sunday after they spotted an \u201cabsolute beast\u201d causing a raucous in NSW\u2019s Port Stephens Bay.<\/p>\n

The 44-year-old and the three other fishers<\/a> were quite puzzled when they caught a glimpse of what they first thought was a shark\u2019s fin emerging from the water.<\/p>\n

But just as quickly as it appeared, the creature then \u201cdisappeared\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could see quite a big commotion on the surface,\u201d Paul, the owner of Fish Port Stephens Estuary Charters<\/a>, told Yahoo News Australia.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought \u2018Geez, that\u2019s a big animal\u2019 and it sort of had me a bit baffled there for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mysterious creature puzzles fishing charter group<\/p>\n

Standing on the boat about 100 metres away, the group watched on as the mysterious figure toyed with their imaginations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought maybe it was a sunfish, because sunfish occasionally come in the bay, and they’re another really big animal,\u201d Paul recalled.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt popped its head out for a second and popped back down. I thought it was a seal at that stage \u2014 I was really stumped as to what it could be.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe took a break from fishing for a bit, and just did a bit of watching, observing.\u201d<\/p>\n

After catching a few more glimpses, Paul said it became clear the animal was an endangered leatherback turtle.<\/p>\n

While the area is \u201cfamous\u201d for its loggerhead and green sea turtles<\/a>, the fisherman, who grew up in the area, said he\u2019s never seen a leatherback roaming around the bay before.<\/p>\n

He had previously come across a dead leatherback that washed ashore.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve lived here my whole life and come from a commercial fishing background. I spend 250 days a year on the water at the moment, and I\u2019ve never seen one alive in Port Stephens in all that time,\u201d he told Yahoo.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know people that have, but they\u2019re extremely rare to see in and around here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video footage appeared to show the creature holding something in its mouth, but Paul said he couldn\u2019t get a good enough look to determine what it was, or if the animal was injured.<\/p>\n

\"Leatherback<\/p>\n

Leatherback turtles are primarily migratory visitors as Australia no longer has a nesting population. Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n

(Getty Images)Fisherman stunned by sheer size of leatherback turtle<\/p>\n

Leatherbacks, the largest of the marine turtles, were nationally listed as endangered in 2000.<\/p>\n

They are primarily migratory visitors to Australia, and we no longer have a nesting population of the large leatherback turtles.<\/p>\n

The majority of leatherbacks seen here are visitors from Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands.<\/p>\n

On average, they weigh between 300kg to 500kg, but they can grow even larger.<\/p>\n

Paul said he found the species\u2019 size quite shocking.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou just don\u2019t realise how big they are until you see them in the flesh,\u201d he added, describing the moment as \u201cunreal\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnother one to add to the list of amazing encounters. The ocean\u2019s just got that way of surprising you all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You can also follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, Twitter<\/a> and YouTube<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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