Fish Van Winkle Caught

Alaska fisherman catches huge 40lb rockfish that is 200-years-old

A fish believed to be at least 200-years-old has been caught in Alaska.

A 39.08-pound rockfish caught by an insurance adjuster from Seattle on June 21 is also believed to be the oldest fish ever caught in the state, according to a local media report.

Henry Liebman reeled in the record setting catch from a depth of about 900 feet, and learned of his achievement when he brought the beast ashore...

The fish returned to Seattle with Liebman, who told the paper he plans to have it mounted. A sample was also sent to a lab in Juneau, the state capital, to help determine its age, reported the paper.

They can determine the age, in theory, by counting rings in it's earbones (otoliths), which add annual rings the way trees do.

Should the fish's age meet expectations, it would predate the US purchase of Alaska from Russia, which happened in 1867. Sitka, according to the local historical society, was the site of the ceremony commemorating the transfer of Alaska from Russia to the US later that year.

I hope it's still fresh...

That's a pretty monstrous rockfish (West Coast rockfish, not east coast Striped Bass which are also called "rockfish").  It's kind of sad that such a big one was taken, but if it hadn't contributed to the gene pool yet, it wasn't likely to.  Coming up from 900 ft, it was not going to going to survive an attempt to return it.