A metre-long sturgeon has knocked a man unconscious after it jumped out of the water and hit him while he was riding a jet-ski.
According to a report from The Times Leader, 23-year old Blake Fessenden was hit by a sturgeon measuring around four feet in length while he was riding a jet-ski-like personal watercraft in the Suwannee River in Florida.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said that Fessenden was knocked unconscious by the fish and had to be rescued by his girlfriend, who was following him on her watercraft.
Fessenden's girlfriend held his head above water until passengers on another vessel arrived and helped pull him out of the water. He was later airlifted to hospital with minor injuries.
The Times Leader says that a 31-year old woman was hospitalised in April after a similar incident involving a 3-foot sturgeon which leapt into the boat she was in on the Suwannee River.
Similar incidents are believed to happen in the area a couple of times each year. The sturgeon found in the Suwannee can jump several metres into the air and can weigh up to 90kg/200 lbs.