A Scots fishmonger has revealed his 'monster from the deep'- a massive monkfish weighing nearly nine stones.
Ed Fletcher, owner of Granite City Fish Ltd in Aberdeen, was stunned to see the gruesome-looking mammoth catch arrive from off the coast of Shetland.
Tipping the scales at 56.3 kg and measuring more than six feet, Ed says he's 'never seen anything like it' in his 38 years in the trade.
He told the Record he would be keeping it on display and potentially looking for some way to preserve the fish.
He said: "A monkfish weighing 15 kg is a big one so to see one at more than 50 is just unbelievable.
"I went on to the internet when it arrived and the males usually grow to a maximum of 20 kg and the females a maximum of 40 kg.
"This old lady must have been in the water a long time to get 25% bigger than the biggest they're supposed to get."
He added: "I want to get it preserved if at all possible and I'm looking into that.
"I've been in the trade for 38 years and I've never seen anything like this in my life. Speaking to other people in fishing nobody has ever heard of the like.
"It is an absolutely outstanding size."
Now a plaque with facts has been put by the 'monster from the deep' for amazed customers to marvel at.
A Facebook post on Friday read: |Here’s the beauty of a monk fish in today! Weighing a whopping 56.3kg! Imagine the size of fillets and cheeks were going to get off of this BEAST!
"Do pop down to see it safely, it’s set up at the front of the factory just please do no touch."
According to the British Sea Farming website the record Monkfish caught was less than 30kg meaning Ed's may be a record holder.
