Recently, a group of UK fishermen hauled in a 434-pound halibut that they estimate to be between 150 and 200 years old.
First off, halibut can live to be over 150 years old? And can grow to 434 pounds? I thought halibut were like flounder or something. I didn’t realize we were talking about animals that can grow to the size of small-to-medium-sized whales.
Dean Roberts, co-owner of Norstar, the company that brought the fish in, says he doesn’t even think it’s the biggest halibut he’s hauled in.
From an article in Paw Nation:
Despite the halibut’s impressive size, its size is not a personal record-breaker for Roberts. I’ve seen bigger ones in the past, he said. But this one has got to be about 150 years old. It’s got away with not being caught for a very long time.
Roberts also said he planned to sell the fish. To people.
A lot of big restaurants in London sell it, Roberts said. He hopes to get $2,400 for the fish.
So we’ve got a fish here that was around for the Lincoln administration and we’re just going to be serving it up to people? That can’t be healthy. How fresh can the fish be when it saw the tail end of the Industrial Revolution?