UPDATE (July 9, 2013): The fish has been officially aged, and it’s only 64 years old. Here are more details.

Fisherman Henry Liebman recently made a deep-sea catch he’ll never forget, reeling in a record-setting shortraker rockfish. Caught off the coast of Sitka, Alaska, Liebman’s fish weighed in at nearly 40 lbs. (the previous high was 38.69 pounds). That’s impressive and all, but here’s the mindblowing part: The fish is estimated to be nearly two centuries old.

From Yahoo! News:

Troy Tidingco, Sitka area manager for the state Department of Fish and Game, said the fish is still being analyzed but he believes it is at least 200 years old. Tidingco said that would beat the current record of 175 years. Researchers are able to determine the age of a shortraker by the number of growth rings along its ear bone.

So basically, this fish is a redwood tree. Also, did we mention it will haunt your nightmares?

Let’s put things in perspective. Assuming the fish hatched 200 years ago in 1813:

James Madison was president of the United States (which consisted of 18 total states) Antarctica had not yet been discovered (1820) The fish was already 48 years old when the Civil War began (1861) The fish was 66 years old when the lightbulb was invented (1879)

Liebman plans to have his alien fish mounted. Presuming he displays it in his home, Liebman has also discovered the world’s greatest way to ward off houseguests. Well played.

(Thanks to Yahoo!’s Sideshow blog for bringing this story to our attention.)