Most of the impressive catches that a fisherman makes will earn him a few high fives from his buddies and some added pride throughout the remainder of their voyage on the open waters, however, every once in a while a big catch can also bring home a big pay day.

That was the case a few weeks ago in China, where a Chinese fisherman caught a rare 176-pound bahaba off the coast of the Fujian Province.  At at a price of $2,705 per pound, this unlikely catch netted (no pun intended) the fisherman a whopping $475,000.  So does that make it the most lucrative fish ever caught?  Not quite.  Instead, that distinction belongs to a 592-pound Bluefin tuna that was caught on January 5th in Japan.  The fish was eventually bought by the Kiyomura Company in Tokyo for a record-setting $736,700.  In fact, the 176-pound bahaba isn’t even the most lucrative of its kind.  In 2010, a bahaba caught in south China was sold for $540,000.

Still, this $475,000 catch is an impressive one.  And what exactly makes the bahaba worth so much, you ask?  The answer can be found in their highly sought-after swim bladder, which is used in Chinese medicine to treat lung and heart ailments.  So the next time you have a heart or lung procedure in China and require medical treatment, chances are whatever medicine you receive will come from this fish.

Hat Tip – [Yahoo!]