‘Subtly different’: Detail in groper pic reveals huge twist after beloved fish’ killing

Locals were left devastated after spearfisherman killed a beloved fish named ‘Gus’ in Sydney. Now, a man has claimed the slain fish wasn’t Gus.

A man has claimed a fish illegally killed in Sydney was reportedly not the beloved blue groper named ‘Gus’ due to a distinctive mark on the fish’s tail.

Residents from Sydney’s Sutherland Shire were left devastated after a spearfisherman killed a fish believed to decades-old Gus off the coast of Cronulla in Sydney’s south on December 30.

The 26-year-old fisherman, who was pictured with the slain fish, was fined $800 after spearing the animal near the Oak Park rock pool in Cronulla, which is a no-spearfishing zone.

Now, in a major twist, wildlife documentary maker David Ireland who named the beloved fish, told the Daily Mail the fish that was killed “was not Gus”.

“I go back a long way with Gus to when I first started to teach diving before we had a boat,” he told the publication.

“It was me who tamed Gus. It was me who named Gus. You’ve got all these so-called experts coming out of the woodwork – they know nothing,” he said.

The spearfisherman was fined $800 for killing the blue groper believed to be Gus.

Mr Ireland said Gus was larger than the fish killed by the fisherman and noted Gus has a scar near his tail from where he had been speared years earlier.

He said he has spent decades with Gus, who would always recognise him among other divers.

“He got so used to me after a while that as soon as I arrived, even among four divers, he would be able to pick me out, regardless of what wetsuit I was wearing.”

“Eventually he was so tame, I could put my arms around him like a puppy dog and pat him.”

“I named him Gus, and that went on for decades,” he continued. “Every time I dived, I would hold Gus and feed him.”

Mr Ireland, who explained all gropers are “subtly different”, said he noticed Gus had been speared at the base of his tail while out with his son in 2013.

“I hoped that he would heal, and he did heal – but it left an indentation at the base of the tail, so that made it very easy to identify him.”

Mr Ireland suggested it was likely one of Gus’ offspring that was killed by the fisherman instead.

Mr Ireland has known Gus for decades. Picture: YouTube@The Wildlife Man/Channel 7

Locals were left heartbroken after hearing that the well-known fish, popular with snorkellers and swimmers due to its friendly and inquisitive nature, had been caught and killed.

“Blue gropers are the ‘Labradors of the Sea’,” Sutherland Shire resident Tenille Piek, whose parents witnessed the incident previously told news.com.au.

“They are tame and curious creatures, making them extremely vulnerable to spearfishing.”

She said locals on the shore frolicking nearby were “shocked and outraged” as the fisherman pulled Gus from the water, gleefully posing for pictures.

The blue groper, known for being non-aggressive and unfazed by humans, has been the official fish of New South Wales since 1996 and is protected by law from spearfishing and commercial enterprise.

Mr Ireland said it was likely one of Gus’ offspring that was killed by the fisherman.

Blue gropers can only legally be taken by line in NSW, but huge penalties of $22,000 and prison time are in place for breaches of bag limits, while a maximum fine of $11,000 is in place for taking a groper by an unlawful method, such as spearfishing.

The December killing was the Shire’s second such reported event in 2023 after another giant blue groper was allegedly killed in May in similar circumstances at Hungry Point, another no-spearfishing zone less than a kilometre away from Oak Park.

In that instance, the unknown spearfisherman also posed for a photograph with his allegedly illicit catch as he brought it ashore on that occasion.

News.com.au understands that The Department of Primary Industries ramped up its response with additional signage after the May incident, though locals claim it has yet to do much.