The marlin comes alive for its last moments and proudly jumps out of the water and falls back in.
After only an hour, Santiago encounters his first shark. The shark detected the blood from the Marlin and followed the trail to the skiff. The shark tears apart a big piece of the marlin and takes Santiago’s harpoon and rope. But Santiago manages to main him. More sharks approach Santiago’s skiff. He kills a few but this attracts more sharks. When the darkness falls, it is impossible for Santiago to fight sharks anymore. They devour the Marlin, leaving only skeleton of the fish.
Santiago admonishes himself for going out to far into the ocean. He gets back to his shag and collapses on his bed. The next morning, a crowd of amazed fishermen gathers around the carcass of the fish. Manolin, who has been worried sick at the old man’s absence, is moved to tears to find Santiago in his bed. When the old man awakes, he and Manolin agree to fish together again. That afternoon, tourists observe the remains of the giant marlin and mistake it for a shark.