'You've got a hide, can I see your licence?' Bizarre moment 'Balmain Karen' threatens to call police on a calm fisherman for releasing a fish back into the water

A woman has threatened to call police on a fisherman for releasing a fish back into the water. 

The pair clashed on a pier outside Balmain Sailing Club in Sydney's inner west, with the woman accusing the man of killing the fish before throwing it back.

The fisherman, who goes by the name Shroom on social media, captured the confrontation along the Parramatta River in Birchgrove over the weekend, before uploading it online. 

'Why did you just kill that fish, and throw it back in?' the woman asked.

Shroom responded by saying 'I didn't kill it' which prompted the woman to double down on her claims. 'You did so. I saw it and it's floating here,' she said. 

A woman confronted a fisherman in Sydney's inner west after she claimed she saw him kill a fish before throwing it back into the water 

The fisherman, who goes by the name Shroom on his social media channels (pictured last year), said he had not killed the fish 

'I tried to release it but it didn't release so I did not kill it,' Shroom said.  

But the woman was adamant she had seen a dead fish.

'You did. I saw it here and it was flapping up and around,' she said. 

'You've got a hide. Can I see your fishing licence please.'

Shroom, who said he did have a licence, maintained he had not done anything wrong and knew how to follow the rules.  

'There's nothing wrong that I've done, absolutely nothing wrong. I know my rules. I'm allowed to release fish like that,' he said.  

When the man suggested the woman call the NSW Department of Primary Industries with her concerns, she said she would, while also going one step further.

'And Balmain Police,' she said. 'I will, I am, don't you worry about it.'   

During the confrontation at Birchgrove, the woman demanded to see the fisherman's licence and threatened to call the police 

Comments on the video Shroom uploaded to social media said he had responded to the situation in a calm manner

Comments on Shroom's social media praised him for responding to the situation in a calm and controlled manner.     

'You handled that well mate. Some people just don't have a clue,' one person said. 

Another wrote: 'Some people just don't get it mate. Handled well - be polite, let them call police or whatever. You knew you were in the right so may as well keep fishing.'

Other comments included 'Good on you for remaining calm and calmly explaining yourself' while one person noted 'Karen strikes again'.  

The NSW Department of Primary Industries website says: 'Recreational fishing in the Harbour has not been banned, but fishers are urged to follow dietary advice on the consumption of seafood from the Sydney Harbour, Parramatta River and other connected tidal waterways'.

'Fishers can also continue to practice catch and release.'