Sport fisherman Henry Liebman, from Seattle, holds his record-breaking shortraker rockfish at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game office Friday, June 21, 2013, in Sitka, Alaska. The fish measured 104 centimeters and weighed 39.08 pounds. (AP Photo/Daily Sitka Sentinel, James Poulson)
AP Photo/Daily Sitka Sentinel, James Poulson
Sport fisherman Henry Liebman, from Seattle, holds his record-breaking shortraker rockfish at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game office Friday, June 21, 2013, in Sitka, Alaska. The fish measured 104 centimeters and weighed 39.08 pounds. It may be more than 200 years old. (AP Photo/Daily Sitka Sentinel, James Poulson)
WASHINGTON – A fisherman hauled in a record-breaking fish in Alaska last month, but size may not be the most impressive thing about the catch.
The Daily Sitka Sentinel reports Henry Liebman hauled in a 39.08-pound shortraker rockfish near Sitka, which topped the previous record of 38.69 pounds.
A state fish and game official says the fish could be about 200 years old, which would top that particular fish’s longevity record by about 25 years.
Rockfish can live at depths of nearly 4,000 feet, the Sentinel says. Liebman was fishing at about 900 feet when he got the bite.
Liebman reportedly planned to have the fish mounted. Samples of the catch were to be analyzed to determine its actual age.