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Two-Centuries-Old Monster Rockfish Caught in Alaska

By Christine Hsu | Update Date: Jul 02, 2013 01:53 PM EDT

A monster rockfish, believed to be at least two-centuries-old, has been caught in Alaska.

The 39.08-pound rockfish caught by Henry Liebman, an insurance adjuster from Seattle, on June 21 is believed to be the oldest fish ever caught in Alaska. Liebman caught the ancient fish from a depth of about 900 feet.

"I knew it was abnormally big [but I] didn't know it was a record until on the way back we looked in the Alaska guide book that was on the boat," Liebman told the Daily Sitka Sentinal.

Troy Tidingco, Sitka area manager for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, told the Daily Sitka Sentinal that the 41-inch rockfish beat the old record set by a 32-and-a-half-inch guppy caught in Alaska.

Because the 32-inch guppy was believed to be over two centuries old, Tidingco said these is reason to believe that the recently caught rockfish is even older.

"That fish was 32-and-a-half inches long, where Henry's was almost 41 inches, so his could be substantially older," Tidingco told the paper.

Liebman brought the giant rockfish to his Seattle home and said he plans to have it mounted. A sample from the rockfish was also sent to a lab in Juneau, Alaska, for researchers to determine its age.

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