State experts believe the eye could have been from a swordfish. This conclusion from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was based on the color, size and structure of the eyeball, along with a bone present around it. The softball-sized eyeball was found on the Florida Straits Offshore according to the wildlife officials. A fisherman may have caught the fish and discarded its eye.Â
Gino Covacci, found the eye while on a walk north of Ft Lauderdale, on the Pompano Beach. He found it fully intact and ‘fresh’. “It was still bleeding when I put it in the plastic bag.” He immediately made a report to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission who preserved the eye before they handed it over to the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, St. Petersburg, Fla. The institute was to analyze the eye and identify its origin.
The officials couldn’t tell immediately the size of the swordfish that could have had this eye but the species is known to grow as big as 1400 pounds. If necessary, the Marine biologists would use genetic testing to identify the species associated with the eye.
An assistant professor at the Florida University, Miami, in the marine science program started the discussion with colleagues immediately pictures of the eyeball hit the internet. A swordfish’s eye, according to them is assumed to be smaller since the eye is hidden inside the head.
According to a recent news release by the commission : “After examining an eye found on a south Florida beach this week, researchers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) believe the specimen came from a swordfish. Genetic testing will be done to confirm the identification.
“Experts on site and remotely have viewed and analyzed the eye, and based on its color, size and structure, along with the presence of bone around it, we believe the eye came from a swordfish,” said Joan Herrera, curator of collections at the FWC’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg. “Based on straight-line cuts visible around the eye, we believe it was removed by a fisherman and discarded.”” [Source: www.dailymail.co.uk]
