The markings on the blue marlin's body looked like a medieval coat of arms with leaf designs. Photo courtesy of Daryl Gutierrez
LOPEZ JAENA, MISAMIS OCCIDENTAL – Photos of a fish that appears to have a tattoo became viral when a netizen posted them on social media Friday.
Beachgoers who saw the fish were amazed on the intricate designs on the fish's body and took pictures.
The "tattoo" on its body looked like a medieval coat of arms with leaf designs.
However, 41-year-old fisherman Zosimo Tano who caught the fish, clarified on Monday the story behind the so-called “tattooed fish” after fellow fishermen told him it made in the news.
Tano said it was a 24-kilo blue marlin that he caught and it never had a tattoo.
He said the print on the fish's body came from his shirt, which he used to cover the fish.
The fisherman's shirt.
“It has no tattoo I never thought that the print of what I used to cover would embed on the fish skin,” Tano told ABS-CBN News.
He also showed his shirt which exactly has the same print embedded on the blue marlin’s skin.
Tano sold the blue marlin, his only catch for the day, for P180 per kilo.
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) explained that there was a chemical reaction between the fish's slimy skin and the print of the fabric.
“That chemical reaction should be subject for further studies,” said BFAR-IX Assistant Regional Director Engr. Joseph Florig.
Fisherman Zosimo Tano sold the blue marlin, his only catch for the day, for P180 per kilo.