Massive roughtail stingray caught at Daytona Beach pier

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - A beachgoer took jaw-dropping video of a fisherman hauling up a massive stingray onto Sunglow Pier in Daytona Beach around 3:30 p.m. Friday.

The roughtail stingray was caught by a fisherman who was asked by some bystanders to throw it back, but it appears the fisherman had other plans when a scuffle broke out.

Rebecca Krawczyk took video of the ray being reeled in. She goes to that area of the beach often.

“We frequent the beach down here many, many years and never seen one that size before so that caught our attention,” Krawczyk said. “There were a lot of people around us at the time. We overheard people talking about it and asked what happened.”

Witnesses say some people were not happy with the fisherman about his catch and tried to take it from him.

Capt. Mike Berard with Volusia County Beach Patrol says the roughtail stingray is not a protected species and the catch was legal. That apparently didn’t stop bystanders from trying to protect the ray, anyway.

“From what I understand I think somebody dumped a bucket of water on somebody else and then there may have been some shoving,” Capt. Berard said.

Beach Patrol says it separated the groups - and everyone walked away without any criminal charges