Snorkeler Finds Holiday Goer’s Wedding Ring Worn Ƅy a Fish on Its Neck

A snorkeler in Australia was astonished when she spotted a sand mullet fish with a wedding band wrapped around its neck.

Susan Prior, a resident of Norfolk Island, was swimming off the east coast of Australia when she came across this unusual sight. Thinking that the ring could be valuable, Prior posted about it on the local Classifieds page in the hope of finding its owner, as reported by Newsweek.

“I remembered that someone had posted on our local community social media pages about a large man’s wedding ring that had gone missing in the bay earlier this year, so I decided to see if I could find the possible owner,” Prior said. “It didn’t take long for my suspicion to be confirmed; we now have a poor mullet weighed down with someone’s (expensive) gold wedding ring.”

The sight of the fish trapped in the ring was distressing to Prior. She mentioned that she often sees other fish caught in plastic rings while snorkeling in the area.

Shortly after her post, she discovered that the ring belonged to Nathan Reeves, who had lost it while swimming with his wife at Emily Bay during Christmas. The couple had been searching tirelessly for the missing ring.

Prior believes that the fish most likely got entangled with the ring while rummaging through the sandy ocean floor for food, a behavior typical of sand mullets. The ring was probably lying in the sand and accidentally flipped over the fish’s head, becoming lodged there.

Currently, Prior is attempting to catch the fish using a net, which would enable her to gently remove the ring and return it to the relieved couple.

“It is very skittish and keeps on the edge of the school,” she explained. “We need to get quite a few of us in there to corral it and then use a throw net to try and catch it. It really is going to be difficult.”

So far, Prior has not been successful in catching the fish and removing the ring.

Prior noted that she often encounters fish trapped in plastic rings from discarded juice and milk bottles, but this was the first time she had seen a fish wearing such an expensive piece of jewelry.

“Most of the rings that get caught by these fish are the plastic ones that go around the tops of juice and other liquids that come in plastic bottles,” she wrote on NorfolkIslandReef.com.au, a website she has launched to document marine life in the region and raise awareness about the importance of keeping the ocean clean.

The story has quickly gained attention worldwide, but Prior remarked, “it is a shame there isn’t more fuss when these rings are plastic.” She added, “Sadly, those of us who swim regularly see this far too often.”

Naturally, Reeves and his wife are eagerly awaiting the retrieval of the ring so that they can return to Norfolk Island to reclaim it.

Hits: 0