Massive stingray estimated to be about 400 pounds caught in Long Island Sound

A giant roughtail stingray that is more than 6 feet long, 5 feet wide, and approximately 400 pounds was caught off the coast of Connecticut.

Connecticut Fish and Wildlife said its Long Island Sound Trawl Survey crew caught the big ray with a net on Wednesday while in Long Island Sound.

These gentle giants are found along the Atlantic coast from New England to Florida but are relatively rare in Long Island Sound," the agency noted in a Facebook post. "Like all stingrays, roughtails have a venomous spine in their tail -- but not to worry -- they are not aggressive, and don’t frequent shallow nearshore waters where people wade and swim."

The agency shared a photo of the stingray on its back, with its light-colored 'ventral side,' or its belly, facing up.

Rather than attempt to roll the animal over, our crew quickly took some measurements and immediately returned the ray to the water to watch it swim away alive and well," according to the post.

The crew also caught acobia, which the agency described as a large predatory fish. This type of fish has the potential to grow to more 6 feet long and weight at least 150 pounds.

The posted noted that while the fish is found in many locations throughout the Atlantic, they have "historically been most abundant south of Chesapeake Bay," in Delaware and Maryland.

"However, as climate change has caused New England waters to warm, this species has become an increasingly common visitor to Long Island Sound," according to the post, adding that the Long Island Sound Trawl Survey is one of the primary tools that Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protectionuses to document "the new normal that is rapidly being created" by climate change.

"(The crew) never knows what they might see on a given day out on the Sound," the post noted.

Learn more about the Long Island Sound Trawl Survey at portal.ct.gov.