Marko Takala sets a Swedish roundnose grenadier record
A 1.22 kg fish caught in Kosterfjorden in September 2011 surpassed a record that had stood since 1999.
Sportfiskarna approved a new Swedish angling record for roundnose grenadier in September 2011. The unusual deep-water catch made Gothenburg angler Marko Takala the new record holder.
Roundnose grenadier (Coryphaenoides rupestris) belongs to the grenadier family, distantly related to cod. The source describes it as a deep-water species feeding mainly on northern shrimp. It appears occasionally in catch reports but remains an uncommon angling catch.
On September 2, Takala was aboard a boat skippered by Bo Hall in Kosterfjorden. An experienced trolling angler, he had been exploring sea fishing more often, but deep-water fishing was new to him.
At around 9 a.m., they were fishing at a depth of 370 meters. Takala had barely remarked that “at these depths, you never know what you might catch” when a fish took his mackerel-fillet bait. Once aboard, it proved to be a roundnose grenadier.
The fish measured 91 cm and was later weighed at 1.22 kg, comfortably exceeding the previous record of 0.972 kg. That earlier fish had been caught in 1999, so its record had stood for more than a decade.
“Sportfiskarna has now recognized the grenadier as a new Swedish record and congratulates record holder Marko Takala,” said Nicka Hellenberg, the organization’s specimen-fish registrar.
