FISHING -- A Seattle man fishing in Alaska caught a 40-pound shortraker rockfish that experts believe could be 200 years old , which would easily predate the Alaska Purchase in 1867.
The Daily Sitka Sentinel reported that Henry Liebman was deep-sea fishing off the coast of Alaska on June 21 when he hooked the record-setting shortraker from a depth of approximately 900 feet.
Shortrakers, which have hues of orange, pink or red on top of their white bodies, are one of the most commonly sought fish in Alaska and can live at depths of more than 2,500 feet.
Troy Tidingco, Sitka area manager for the state Department of Fish and Game, said the fish is still being analyzed but he believes it is at least 200 years old. The current record is 175 years. Researchers are able to determine the age of a shortraker by the number of growth rings along its ear bone.
