Fishers make unlikely catch after kangaroo spotted 3km from shore

A kangaroo discovered kilometres from shore in a South Australian bay has been rescued by a fishing crew.

Jake Murray and his crew were on Boston Bay, off the coast of Port Lincoln, when a shout from skipper Ryan Smith caused them to do a double take.

"He's like, 'I reckon there's a roo in the water', and we're like, 'Yeah, sure. All right, Ryan, sure,'" Mr Murray said.

"So we doubled back to check it out and yeah — it was a bloody roo in the water!"

Mr Murray estimated the male kangaroo was about 3 kilometres offshore.

The crew was able to help the exhausted animal into the boat after opening the sea door.

"The sea door basically comes down to essentially the water level," Mr Murray said.

"So we we're able to comfortably get under his arms, bring him on board and just hold him there."

A first for everyone

Mr Murray, a diver and farmer, deals with wild animals often, but never quite like this.

He was able to hug the animal to keep it calm and under control.

"Just hanging on to him, just controlling his legs, because they're quite mighty and powerful," Mr Murray said.

"He's obviously been swimming around for a while … it was pretty knackered, pretty waterlogged.

"Honestly, I was just kind of cradling him there for a while and it was almost like he was having a little nap."

Among the crew was Miguel Villarroel, a diver from the Galapagos Islands.

"He's been in the country for a while now, but that's the first time he's ever seen a kangaroo," Mr Murray said.

"He's like, 'Oh, does this happen a fair bit?'

"I'm like, 'Mate, I've never seen this in my life.'

"I've seen them around the area, like in shallows, at surf beaches — but in the middle of the bay, yeah, never in my wildest dreams would I think I'd see that."

Mr Murray was stumped as to how the animal came to be so far out to sea.

"Maybe because it was so calm and flat … maybe [it was] caught in the tide, you just don't know," he said.

"Probably a teenager trying to impress his mates, going for a swim.

"He must have had a big night and one of the boys put a dare on and he's gone for a splash and put himself into mischief."

Back ashore, the kangaroo sat on the beach before hopping away.