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What a catch! Fisherman reels in 20ft conger eel trapped in trawler net

The monster catch weighed in at 131lb AFTER it was gutted

What a catch! Fisherman reels in 20ft conger eel trapped in trawler net

PLYMOUTH, UNITED KINGDOM - A record-breaking 20ft conger eel has been caught in a trawler net off the Plymouth coast. 

The enormous catch weighed in at 131lb – after it was gutted. 

The sea creature got itself caught in the nets of a trawler and a photo of it hanging up was posted on Facebook. 

The caption read: 'Conger 130lb gutted landed in Plymouth market this morning! What a Beast.'

The conger eel would have weighed about 155 to 150lbs before it was gutted, knocking the previous record holder’s 133lbs record out of the park. 

Fisherman Vic Evans held the previous world record for his Conger Eel, caught six miles of Brixham, Devon, whilst fishing from his own vessel Sea Spray.

It was caught on a wreck in 1995 and weight 133lbs 4oz before it was gutted. 

Pete Bromley, manager of Plymouth Fisheries, said: ‘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.

This giant conger eel weighed 130lb AFTER it was gutted (SWNS)
This giant conger eel weighed 130lb AFTER it was gutted (SWNS)

‘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.’