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While spending a day out on Long Island Sound on Wednesday, Sept. 27, a Long Island Sound Trawl Survey crew managed to pull a 400-pound roughtail stingray from the water, Connecticut Fish and Wildlife announced.
The mammoth creature measured over 6 feet long and 5 feet wide, which officially made it "HUGE," Fish and Wildlife official said on social media
It was a rare sight, as while stingrays are found along the Atlantic coast from Florida to New England, they do not often venture into Long Island Sound, according to Fish and Wildlife officials.
Although the animal has a venomous spine in its tail, officials said that the species is not aggressive and does not usually swim in shallow waters where it may encounter people.
After catching the stingray and measuring it, the crew returned it to the water and watched it swim away, officials said.
In addition to the stingray, another curious catch was made by the crew later in the day when they pulled up a predatory fish known as a "cobia."
Officials said that while this species is commonly found south of Chesapeake Bay, climate change has caused it to expand to the warming New England waters.
The Long Island Sound Trawl Survey has become one of the tools used by state officials to measure changes caused by climate change, officials said.
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