Hank49
Contributor
I love this argument ...
It's the one always used by "sport" fishermen when they haul a mature, 700 pound, pregnant shark out and hang it from the dock. "Hey, look at me! Look what I killed!" Then you call them on it and they say, "What's the big deal? It's only one fish!"
You're either a part of the problem or part of the solution ... pick one.
I didn't see anyone kill the fish.
It is a very interesting interaction. I hunt fish every week. 100 lb and larger fish fear people. They pick up on the fact that we're predators and make it very challenging to get close to them.
I've never encountered this species but it would seem that, as someone mentioned, it may have been looking for a "cleaning station" to rub off parasites. Or, it wasn't healthy and didn't have the energy to escape. If that fish didn't want that guy on its back it could have easily gotten away if it was a healthy fish.