TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A fisherman off the coast of Penghu pulled in a 56.42-kilogram cobia on Friday (Nov. 24).

Cobia is a prized fish in Penghu, often raised in ocean net cages for sushi-grade meat. However, the fish have little tolerance for low temperatures, leading many to die every winter, per Liberty Times.

For this reason, most cobia are harvested when they reach market size, which takes about 18 months. This is typically 6–8 kg for export to Japan or 8–10 kg for the domestic market.

A local fisherman, Yan Jia-heng (顏嘉亨), was able to attract the cobia to his line by using live horse mackerel as live bait. Due to the huge size of the fish, it took tremendous effort to land the cobia onto the boat after being hooked.

Yan said he has been fishing at sea for more than 20 years and has never encountered such a large cobia. He expressed great thanks for this gift from the sea.

Upon sending the giant cobia to the Penghu Fish Market, a large crowd formed, and the fish became the center of attention. Based upon the current market price of NT$450–500 (US$14–16) per kilogram, the fish was worth an estimated NT$28,000.

Some fishermen believed that the record catch would take many years to break.

According to Chen Lian-sheng (陳連生), a cage-net breeder of cobia, growing a fish to a size of 50 kg would take six to seven years. However, a variety of factors are also at play, such as the right location and environment, as cobia cannot withstand temperatures below 14 C.

The seas off Penghu are relatively cool, making it difficult for cobia, which are not native, to thrive. The wild population must have escaped from cage-net farms, making it highly unlikely that a fish could survive in the wild and grow to such a size.