The Gulf of Mexico never ceases to amaze. Much of the allure to being on the water is not knowing what lies beneath it. A bizarre story took over the front pages of websites and newspapers, while also being broadcast across television and radio airwaves. A man walking on a beach found a mystery eyeball. This wasn’t an ordinary eyeball; it was about the size of a softball.
FWC’s Carli Segelson, Public Information Coordinator for the South Region of Florida, was at the meeting when the FWC took possession of the mystery eyeball. She snapped a picture, and when the picture hit the FWC Facebook page it went viral.
People everywhere chimed in on what it could be. Giant Squid? Mola Mola? Bigfoot? Swordfish? Marlin? The bizarre nature of the story had it voted into the top 10 weirdest stories of 2012 for National Geographic.
Soon after the mystery eyeball was turned into the FWC, Dr. Tom Reinert came into its possession. Reinert ruled out many of the possible suspects. Based on the smell, he determined it was “fishy” and not “squiddy”. The color, a deep blue, had determined it was not from a Mola Mola, another large fish that lives around Florida waters.
Finally, Dr. Reinert claimed the eyeball to be from a billfish. “Based on Scientific observation, expert opinion and knowledge of local fisheries we quickly deduced that the eyeball likely came from a swordfish,” said Dr. Reinert.
Nearly a year after its discovery, genetic testing in St. Petersburg’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute has officially confirmed that the mystery eyeball did indeed belong to a swordfish.
How did it come to wash up on a beach? Here’s the theory:
Swordfish can be kept in Florida waters. Most likely an angler kept the large swordfish, and during the filleting process decided to remove the eyeball from its boney orbital cup. Shortly after, the eyeball made it’s way to the beach where it was found by human means or forces of nature.
The eyeball is still kept in a jar at the FWRI. “It has not aged well… then again, it is an eyeball… in a jar,” states the FWC.
In the end, this is one mystery of the sea that has been officially solved.
