A fisherman in the Dominican Republic was nearly speared when a blue marlin leaped onto his boat

A 25-stone blue marlin nearly speared fisherman when it jumped aboard their boat.

The men were fishing in the waters off the Dominican Republic when the huge fish boarded their vessel.

The incredible leap was caught on video by the boat owner Bobby Jacobsen and it has since gone viral on YouTube with over 300, 000 views.

Although the fisherman did not sustain any injuries, the blue marlin died shortly afterwards from ‘self-sustained injuries’ according to reports from ABC.

The blue marlin is native to the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans, and it is regarded as the ‘holy grail’ for sport and big game fishers. They are a rare species and not easily hooked which makes them a popular target.  

There have been previous incidents recorded where these huge fish have injured fishermen. They use their sword-like bill to stun, injure and kill their prey – in 2000 one man in Mexico was killed on his boat after reeling in a marlin.

Watch the video in full below:

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