A rockfish that researchers think was swimming in the North Pacific when James Madison was president in the early 1800s has been caught off the coast of Alaska.
If its estimated age is accurate, it would make the rockfish, snagged by Seattle resident Henry Liebman, the oldest of its kind ever landed, according to a report by LiveScience.
Troy Tydingco of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game told the Daily Sitka Sentinel that the oldest shortraker rockfish previously known lived to about is 175 years, but that fish "was quite a bit smaller than the one Henry caught."
As well, "that fish was 32-and-a-half inches long, where Henry's was almost 41 inches, so his could be substantially older," Tydingco continued.
Samples of the Liebman's rockfish have been sent to a lab in Juneau, where the age will be determined, according to the Sentinel.
Scientists can estimate the age of a fish by examining its otolith, an ear bone that contains growth rings similar to the yearly age rings found in tree trunks.
The longest-lived animal ever recorded was a quahog clam that was found in the waters off Iceland and believed to have reached 400 years of age.
At 39.08 pounds, or 17.73 kilograms, Liebman's fish may also set a record for being the largest rockfish ever caught.
"I knew it was abnormally big... didn't know it was a record until on the way back. We looked in the Alaska guidebook that was on the boat," said Liebman, who also told the Sentinel he's gotten "a lot of mileage" from his fantastic --- and completely true --- fish story.
In fact, Liebman said, he plans to have the record book fish mounted, so he will always have a visual aid to augment his tale of the really big one that didn't get away.
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