A Washington man has caught a fish that could be over 200 years old.
Henry Liebman was fishing 10 miles off the coast of Sitka, Alaksa when he caught a huge shortacker rockfish.
“I think it’s just a kick. You know for some people something so old is out of their perspective. So you have fun with it,” the Seattle real estate developer told ABC News.
Most fish stop growing once they reach adulthood. Rockfish, however, don’t stop growing until they die.
Liebman’s 39.8-pound catch is the largest fish ever caught by a recreational fisherman in the state of Alaska.
“There is a strong correlation between length, age and weight,” said Troy Tydingco, an area management biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. “We have some fish that have been aged upwards of 200 years that have been smaller than this one.”
Liebman caught the rockfish on June 21. He said that regardless of its incredible age and weight, he’s just happy he caught a member of this unique species.
“I’ve been fishing all my life and I went out targeting this species,” Liebman told ABC News. “I just wanted to try and catch one because no one fishes for them.”
Rockfish typically swim deep in the ocean, too far below the surface for sport fisherman to catch them.
“I had to drop a bunch of halibut bait down around 900 feet,” Liebman said.
“When I got a bite, I felt it run a little. I thought it was only a halibut at first. But when it came out of the water its sheer size made me think immediately it was a rockfish. This thing was just huge. It was just ridiculous,” Liebman continued.
Experts will further analyze the fish later this week to determine its exact age.
“The rockfish’s ear bone grows one ring for every year it lives just like a tree would,” Speegle explained. “By counting these rings we can determine its exact age.”
