“Hansel took more than two hours to reel in the 2.5m (8ft 2in) monster of the deep off Bolungarvik, in Iceland’s Western Fjords, where it took five men to eventually haul the 970-portion fish on board. ‘This is the fish I have been fishing for all my life,’ said the 70-year-old German. He used a 30lb line and a plastic lure to snare the halibut. Once he got it alongside their boat, a rope was tied around its tail so it could be hoisted on to the deck.
Herbert Loechel, managing director of the fishing tour operator, said: ‘After the bite, we had to worry that Gunther would land the fish. It took him 135 minutes. ‘But the boat’s crew helped hoist the giant fish, with more anglers on board to help, on to the boat. ‘Back at port, the giant fish was celebrated vigorously.’ The mighty fish has broken all records – beating the previous best by 8.2kg (18lb). The earlier record was held by anglers Bosse Carlsson and Hans-Olov Nilsson, weighing 210kg (464lb), caught off Norway in July 2009.
Atlantic halibut are native to the northern Atlantic ocean, from Greenland to the Barents Sea and as far south as the Bay of Biscay. They can reach up to 5m (15ft) in length, weigh up to 320kg (700lb) and can live for 50 years. Commercial fishing of the Atlantic variety has largely collapsed since overfishing led to it being registered as endangered in 1996.
Read more at The Metro (Thanks Duncan)
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HHHmmm something about this smells a bit fishy!
Amazing. The guy looks overjoyed with his catch!
One catch could help solve a lot of problems. How do I get there? And who will come with me and be the extra manpower?
I just think its sad to kill someone that has grown to such a marvellous size and probably lived for many years.
I also think how smart a person must be to capture a creature with little intelligence…. Must make them proud!
Poor fish
Makes me sad.
Um, if the halibut is registered as an endangered species isn’t it illegal to catch them, no matter how many records they break? Also, Scott, I completely agree! Humans need to start realizing that we are not the be all, end all of evolution and that other species are not here just for us to have fun with… I wonder when it will kick in?
Vile! Let it go.
Great…now it’s dead. Get a real hobby.
Agree with Scott. A shame this huge fish can’t continue to grow even bigger.
@Scott..
one word. “cow”.
“Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime”
fuckin a right
Ian,
Not that I ever want to turn this into a debate or anything, but there is a big difference from killing creatures in the wild compared to killing creatures that are bred for that purpose.
I know killing opens up a whole can of worms, but really. This is a wild creature which should deserve some respect. IMO if it isn’t bred for the purpose then it shouldn’t be eaten.
But that’s just my view.
put him back.
freaking WOW! fab halibut! wish it was my fish LOL!
That halibut is good enough for Jehovah…
Why can’t we celebrate the fact that something so astonishing is alive instead of killing it?
I’ve never understood the thought process, “That’s the biggest *insert animal here* ever recorded, let’s kill it”. Why not film it and show it to the world alive?