Record-breaking 20ft eel caught off British coast

An enormous conger eel has been caught off the coast of Plymouth in Devon.

The Mirror reports that the eel was roughly the same height as a double decker bus at six metres (20ft).

It was accidentally caught in the nets of a fishing trawler, and pictures of the monster catch were uploaded to Facebook.

Conger 130lb gutted landed in Plymouth market this morning! What a Beast
Posted by London International Club of Spearfishing on Thursday, May 14, 2015

The conger eel was landed at Plymouth Fisheries and was caught by the inshore trawler 'Hope'. It weighed 59.5KG (131lb) gutted, and its total weight with guts would be about 155 to 160lbs.

The conger made about 70p per kilogram at auction when it was sold.

Pete Bromley, Manager of Plymouth Fisheries, told Aol Travel: "This conger eel is a very large fish, and an unusual catch for a trawler, with the current rod-caught record standing at 133lb 4oz.

"Conger move to very deep water and die after spawning, so like all large congers caught off the South West approaches, this fish is likely to be an unspawned female.

"These large eels are generally found hiding in the many wrecks around the South West, or on reefs and rocky ground, but they do venture out to open ground in search of food, usually during neap tides or slack water.

"Despite their size and power, they are not very strong swimmers."

Scott Govier, 42, a commercial fisherman from Plymouth, Devon, caught the monster eel. He told the Guardian: "It was just a normal day fishing – business as usual. When we pulled it up I was stunned, because it was so huge. It was already dead when we pulled it up, else we would have thrown him back in and let him live.

"It was too much of a magnificent specimen to kill, but as he was already dead it seemed worth bringing him in.

"It was sold in the Plymouth market, made just over £40. Congers aren't worth much these days, but it went for more than I expected."

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