Huge eight foot halibut weighing 130kg snapped-up by Edinburgh fishmonger
A 130kg wild halibut, one of the biggest ever caught by a boat in Scottish waters, was sold in Edinburgh this morning.
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Landed by Scottish trawler, Aquarius, in the in the Atlantic off the Outer Hebrides, the massive halibut measured eight feet long and four feet wide.
The boat usually trawls for cod and haddock but the crew ‘hit the jackpot’ when they caught the 130kg halibut.
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The giant fish arrived at Newhaven in the early hours and was bought for more than £1000 by Armstrong’s Fishmongers in Stockbridge at 4am today and will be cut into nearly 100 portions.
Shop manager, Gary Huckle has worked in the industry for more than 35 years but said he has “never seen anything like this.”
Astonished with the catch the 50-year-old from Rosewell, Midlothian said: “It’s 130kg of deadweight wild halibut, that must be one of the, if not the, biggest caught in Scotland.
“I’ve been a fishmonger for 35 years and I have never seen a halibut this size. I’ve done big fish before but this is off the scale. It’s the biggest Scottish fish I have ever seen.
The fish is currently being cut into prime loins and will be available to buy from Armstrong’s Fishmongers today and tomorrow.
“We can’t fillet it because it’s got a big middle bone, we are cutting it into big halibut loins.
“We are in the process of cutting it up now but I think we will get 75 kilos out of that, you do get a bit of weight loss with halibut.”
Armstrong’s has a history of large halibut catches, in July 2017 it bought a 104kg caught by the Banff-registered Enterprise fishing boat near Rockall. The same year it bought a 63kg landed by the Sudrinon.
In September 2014, the fishmongers bought a 51kg halibut which was landed by Enterprise II in Kinlochbervie.
But the 130kg fish that arrived today trumps the second biggest catch by nearly 30kg.
Mr Huckle said the catch is “unbelievable”.
He said: “It’s the biggest Scottish fish I have ever seen, it’s absolutely massive.”
The largest halibut caught in Scottish waters – which weighed more than 134kg – was netted off Peterhead last August.