A California fisherman might have broken records by catching a 10.25-lb. canary rockfish
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A Northern California man caught a plump canary goby that he said weighed 10.25 pounds (4.65 kilograms), possibly setting state and world records.
Mendocino County fisherman Brendan Walsh, 26, said he caught the fish on Tuesday off the coast of Albion, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) north of San Francisco.
Walsh was returning with his father, Will Walsh, after catching a few yellowtails on a cold, rainy day when he decided to make one last stop at a deeper spot. This is where young Walsh landed the canary goby.
“It was a coincidence,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
The canary goby can grow up to 0.76 meters in length and weigh up to 10 lbs. (4.5 kilograms), according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Usually his catches are small and skinny, weighing about 3 lbs, says Walsh. (1.4 kilograms).
Walsh said the fish he caught this week was 2.25 feet (0.68 meters) long.
He submitted his catch to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, which tracks angling and diving records. The fish that holds the current state record weighed 9 lbs. and was captured again in Mendocino County last November.
The Department has a form and instructions for submitting a possible record capture, including the names and phone numbers of witnesses. Applicants are asked to contact the department to locate the nearest environmental scientist who can identify the capture.
They weighed the fish at a nearby authorized fish market and a state fish and wildlife scientist who works in the area came to sign the paperwork, Walsh said.
Walsh also presented his catch to the International Game Fish Association. FloridaIt is the place where the world record for a 10-kilogram canary goby was caught in 1986. He says larger fish may have been caught but were never submitted for record evaluation.
The game fish association did not respond to a request for comment Friday.
After spending Tuesday making sure they had the right measurements to document the catch, Walsh’s mother, Deirdre Lamb, fried the rockfish with garlic and butter for dinner on Wednesday.
He said the rock fish was very delicious.
