Hurrah for Not Killing Things! One might question the point of hauling its ass out the water in the first place but who am I, a vegetarian Midlander, to question why?!
The only way to safely get my gear back was to briefly bring it out of the water. This beast IS equiped with the same tail barb that killed Steve Irwin so I was VERY careful.
It is also very common for some to cut the wings off and cut them into what they sell as fake scallops.