DEFINITION OF LEARNING – Retiring Keet Gooshi Heen Elementary School teacher Matthew Burrows helps hand out dictionaries to kids this morning in the school multipurpose room. In front, Elias Pfeiffer, 9, left, and Haley Jones, nearly 9, look through their dictionaries to find answers to questions posed to them on index cards. The Sitka Rotary Club annually provides the dictionaries to all third graders. Rotarian Shannon Haugland, who helps organize the effort, pointed out that besides providing definitions, the dictionaries also have maps, sign language letters and other information. (Sentinel Photo)
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Daily Sitka Sentinel
Record-Sized Rockfish May Also be the Oldest
By TOM HESSE
Sentinel Staff Writer
A record-breaking rockfish was hauled in near Sitka last week.
Henry Liebman reeled in the 39.08-pound shortraker late last week, breaking the old record of 38.69 pounds for a shortraker caught on sportfishing gear.
The age of the fish hasn’t yet been determined, but that too might be a record, a fishery expert said.
Liebman, an insurance adjustor who works in Seattle, said he frequently visits Sitka to charter fish, so he knew that he had a large fish on when the shortraker struck.
“I knew it was abnormally big (but I) didn’t know it was a record until on the way back we looked in the Alaska guide book that was on the boat,” Liebman said.
A fishery biologist said this shortraker may have been patrolling Sitka’s coast since the time of Alexander Baranov.
Troy Tidingco, Sitka area manager for the state Department of Fish and Game, certified Liebman’s catch, and said this fish might be in the neighborhood of 200 years old.
“The rougheye is the oldest-aged fish at 205,” Tydingco said. He said the longevity record for shortrakers, which are often confused with rougheyes, is 175 years. But that record fish, he said “was quite a bit smaller than the one Henry caught.”
“That fish was 32 and a half inches long, where Henry’s was almost 41 inches, so his could be substantially older.”
Samples of the fish have been sent to a lab in Juneau where the actual age of Liebman’s fish will be determined.
Rockfish live at depths that range between 84 feet all the way down to almost 4,000 feet. Liebman said he was fishing at a depth of around 900 feet, 10 miles out when his giant shortraker took his bait.
The fish went back to Washington with Liebman, who plans to have it mounted.
He also took home a big fish story that he said he’s already been “getting a lot of mileage” out of.
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20 YEARS AGO
May 2004
A measure raising property taxes to fund capital expense at Sitka Community Hospital failed, 1,053 to 1,248 in the May 4 special city election.
50 YEARS AGO
May 1974
From Sitka 20 Years Ago, 1954: Worry over the condition of Vern “Porky” McGraw for his forthcoming heavyweight championship bout with Harry “The Man” Bartels was dispelled today by his manager, Clem “Mighty” Pace, when he told of the amount of exercise Porky is getting.