Man's head found in giant cod

Australian police have launched an investigation after a man's head was found inside a giant cod at a processing plant.

Australian police have launched an investigation after a man's head was found inside a giant cod at a processing plant.

Staff at the seafood plant in far north Queensland made the grisly discovery on Tuesday while filleting the 97lb Morgan cod.

Officers took the 5-foot-9-inch fish away in a body bag after the head rolled onto a filleting table at the A Fine Kettle o' Fish filleting factory in Cairns, about 1,240 miles north of Sydney.

It was unclear how the head ended up in the fish's stomach - Morgan cod suck in their prey and do not have sharp teeth.

Factory co-owner Peter Monson said the male head was "wholly intact" inside the fish, which was being filleted at the time of the discovery.

The massive cod had been caught over the weekend and brought into Cairns, where it was kept in ice until filleting began. "It's not an everyday occurrence that you make a discovery like this," Monson said.

"There was just total disbelief. You would never dream of it."

Police are investigating whether the head may have been that of local fisherman Michael Peter Edwards who disappeared after falling off a trawler on Sunday morning.

Detective Sergeant Dave Miles of Cairns police said forensic experts would be working over the next few days to establish its identity.