Record-breaking 513 Pound Halibut Caught in Norway

A German angler hooked a world record-breaking Atlantic halibut that tipped the scales at 513 pounds.

The nine-foot-long fish weighed more than a gorilla and was so big it could not be hauled onto the fishing boat after Marco Liebenow spent an hour and a half fighting it with hook and line.

According to the outdoors life publication Field & Stream, the fish was heavy enough to shatter the International Game Fish Association's (IGFA) current world record for Atlantic halibut by 94 pounds. While not yet confirmed, it is possible the fish claims the title for the biggest halibut ever caught with a rod and reel, Field & Stream reported.

Liebenow and his shipmates tied a rope to the fish's tail and towed it to shore, where it had to be brought to land with a crane.

When he first hooked the fish it put up such a fight that Liebenow joked he may have caught a submarine, the Daily Mail reported.

The fish was caught during charter fishing expedition. Liebenow does not speak English, according to Field & Stream, but Daivd Bottcher, a representative from Angelreisen Hamburg, the angling tour operator that organized the fishing trip to Kjollefjord, Norway, relayed the following:

"It took four men to bring it towards their 19-foot boat and then they could only put a sling around its tail and pull it back to the harbour. Marco was elated afterwards and celebrated with the boat skipper and their housekeeper by having a few beers. Before he left for the trip, he called us first to ask for a few hints about how and where to fish - I guess our advice paid off. It looks like it is a world record for a halibut but we are waiting to have it confirmed."

The IGFA maintains world records for both Pacific and Atlantic halibut. Liebenow's catch handily bests the Atlantic halibut record of 418 pounds, which was set in 2004. The record for Pacific halibut is 459 pounds and was set in 1996, according to Field & Stream.

Liebenow reportedly donated the prize halibut to a local fish dealer.