The previous record for a halibut caught using a rod weighed in at 161.2 kilos and was taken in Rogaland in 1997 according to Chris Appleby from the magazine Villmarksliv, who is a member of the jury that registers the records.

"I thought something was wrong with the scales when it stopped at 190 kilos," said Thomas Buge Nilsen, the Dane that caught the massive fish.

The halibut, which had to be moved by forklift, had impressive vital statistics indeed: 190 kilos, 2.38 meters (7 feet 9 inches) long, 1.26 meters (4 feet 1 inch) wide and 35 centimeters (13.7 inches) thick.

Nilsen used pollack as bait and bottom-fished, at a depth of about 40 meters.