Gary lands big halibut on line

A LERWICK vessel was out fishing for cod in sunny weather on Monday when it unexpectedly landed a five-foot, 21-kilogram halibut.

Gary Bremner was fishing off Sumburgh Head in his Lerwick-registered boat Hopeful when he caught the mammoth flatfish on his handline.

As luck would have it, photographer Garry Sandison – not a regular fisherman himself – happened to be fishing in the same area on board the Boy Fraser, and was able to grab the above photo.

Gary said it was unusual to catch such a large halibut “especially with the jigging machines”, and described it as a “large bonus”. He landed it at Lerwick fishmarket for the princely sum of £235.

“He [Garry] doesn’t go out fishing very much – he goes out sailing a lot – he’d just been out for a run that day,” he said of the accidental photo opportunity.