Dramatic footage of a sailfish slamming into a fisherman has emerged online.

In the clip, the man can be seen wrestling with the animal while others around him continue to fish, it's only when the sailfish leaps out of the water and slams one of them that they take note of the startling situation as their boat speeds through the waves.

The incident took place in Guatemala and concerned a family. The man who was hit reportedly emerged with only minor back scrapes.

To put how lucky an escape this was into context, as per Oceana, sailfish are one of the fastest fish in the sea and can swim at speeds of up to 70 mph. They are one of the ocean's top predators, and the sword at the front of their faces is used to stab and kill their prey.

Sailfish have incredible endurance, which is why they are top game for many fishermen as they can put up a real fight.

A study cited by the National Geographic found that they will attack their prey for hours.

"They don't just attack a school and remove individuals like dolphins or sharks would," says Jens Krause, the author of the study.

"They rough these fish up for many hours. They keep them pinned, go in, and hit multiple individuals over and over again. In smaller schools, virtually every fish has been injured many times. They're slow and exhausted. That's when the sailfish start with the tapping. The tapping is targeted harvesting of individuals that have already been roughed up."

Meanwhile, in other fish-related news, a Russian fisherman has shared pictures of the strangest creatures he's brought up from the depths and, believe it or not, a fish was actually removed from a teenager's nose.

Dramatic footage of a sailfish slamming into a fisherman has emerged online.

In the clip, the man can be seen wrestling with the animal while others around him continue to fish, it's only when the sailfish leaps out of the water and slams one of them that they take note of the startling situation as their boat speeds through the waves.

The incident took place in Guatemala and concerned a family. The man who was hit reportedly emerged with only minor back scrapes.

To put how lucky an escape this was into context, as per Oceana, sailfish are one of the fastest fish in the sea and can swim at speeds of up to 70 mph. They are one of the ocean's top predators, and the sword at the front of their faces is used to stab and kill their prey.

Sailfish have incredible endurance, which is why they are top game for many fishermen as they can put up a real fight.

A study cited by the National Geographic found that they will attack their prey for hours.

"They don't just attack a school and remove individuals like dolphins or sharks would," says Jens Krause, the author of the study.

"They rough these fish up for many hours. They keep them pinned, go in, and hit multiple individuals over and over again. In smaller schools, virtually every fish has been injured many times. They're slow and exhausted. That's when the sailfish start with the tapping. The tapping is targeted harvesting of individuals that have already been roughed up."

Meanwhile, in other fish-related news, a Russian fisherman has shared pictures of the strangest creatures he's brought up from the depths and, believe it or not, a fish was actually removed from a teenager's nose.