Fishermen catch 157kg grouper off Florida coast

A group of US fishermen caught a Warsaw grouper so large that they were forced to reel in their massive haul with a crane.

Video of the 157kg catch was shared online by charter fishing company Pole Dancer Nation.

The grouper was caught during the 33rd annual Crosthwait Fishing Tournament in Florida.

The reaction to the haul was mixed, with some commenters enraged with the cruelty of removing such a large fish from the ocean.

"This is absolutely maddening and sad. Do you realise how old that fish must have been and how long he must have lived?" Melissa Stabenow wrote.

"Imagine how many years that fish has been alive and now because of a stupid fishing tournaments it's dead," Ryan Diaz added.

Despite the outrage, most of the 2850 commenters were impressed by the effort required to catch the deep sea fish.