Giant Halibut in Iceland Proved to Be World’s Largest

A giant halibut caught by German hobby angler Gunther Hansel off Bolungarvík in the West Fjords last summer, measuring 2.5 meters and weighing almost 220 kilos, is the largest halibut ever caught by a sea angler. The record has been widely reported in the international media.

Hansel with his giant halibut. Photo by Reynir Skarsgaard.

This story was originally reported on icelandreview.com in August but at the time it wasn’t certain whether it was a world record, even though it was clear that it was the largest halibut caught in Iceland.
The record has now been confirmed. The previous record was held by Bosse Carlsson and Hans-Olov Nilsson, who caught a 210-kilo halibut off the coast of Norway in 2009.
According to visir.is, it took Hansel two hours to get the halibut onboard with the assistance of five men. The anger, who is 70, told the Daily Mirror that he has been waiting his entire life for such a catch.
Hansel sold his catch at a fish market for more than ISK 450,000 (USD 3,900, EUR 2,900) and shared the profits with his sea angling partners.
The boat on which the lucky sea anglers caught the giant halibut is called Jasmine ÍS-431 and is operated by Víkurbátar ehf. in Bolungarvík. The West Fjords have become a popular destination among sea anglers.
Click here to read icelandreview.com’s previous story about the giant halibut and here to see more pictures of it.