It was minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit and a wind was cutting across the ice as six men took turns wrangling a fishing line as they stood on a frozen river in the Canadian province of Quebec.
Their catch was heavy and would not budge.
The fishermen were expecting a long day and modest luck on Jan. 31 when they cut through the frozen surface of the Saguenay River, which is more than 100 miles north of the City of Quebec and drains ultimately into the St. Lawrence River.
They were taking part in a scientific project to better understand the migration patterns of Atlantic halibut.
After more than two hours, they pulled up what was later confirmed as the largest Atlantic halibut caught along the Saguenay, which is more than 100 miles long.
The fish measured about two meters long — or more than 6.5 feet long — and weighed 244 pounds, according to researchers.
“When it bit, we knew it was probably a halibut, but we didn’t know how big it was,” said Alain Hamel, the fisherman who hooked it.
The previous record along the river was a 194-pound halibut caught last year, according to the CBC, a Canadian broadcaster.
Researchers have been studying the halibut in the region since the winter of 2022, assessing the health of that flatfish population and learning about its ecosystem.
They tagged and cut the fish to see what they could learn about its migration patterns, population trends and food sources.
“By analyzing the bones in his head, we’re able to see how it migrates through the Saguenay and the St. Lawrence River,” said Marc-André Galbrand, president of the Ha! Ha! Bay Watershed Committee, the organization behind the research, which is authorized to issue permits to fish Atlantic halibut in the bay.
Under Canadian regulations, this species of halibut is generally required to be released after it is fished to protect the population.
The Atlantic halibut is a flatfish with both eyes set on the right side of its head. They can be as long as about a foot, or, in some cases, stretch past eight feet.
A bottom-dwelling fish that lives in cold saltwater, halibut are sought commercially as a food source. They’ve been overfished in some areas.
The struggle to land the halibut on Jan. 31 required persistence.
After about 75 minutes of tugging, the halibut approached the ice hole where the fishermen were. Then, without warning, it plunged. The fishermen feared the line would snap.
“It was the moment we thought we were going to lose it,” Mr. Hamel recalled.
They put in another hour of pulling and rotated among themselves before fatigue set in for those holding the line. When the fish finally emerged, three others stood ready with hooks to help pull it onto the ice.
What followed were “several minutes of euphoria,” Mr. Hamel said.
A video captured the moment when the tension snapped, and they raised their arms and cheered.
The catch raised a question: Once the fish had been sacrificed for science, what would the triumphant fishermen do with all that halibut?
The answer was a communal one: The fish was large enough to be divided among members of the group, and to be cooked and eaten for as long as it lasts.
For the fishermen, breaking the record mattered. So did the benefit to science. But neither quite matched the experience itself.
“To me, this was a beautiful day of fishing with friends that ended very well,” Mr. Hamel said. “And that will remain etched in our minds for many years to come.”
Mark Walker is a Times reporter who covers breaking news and culture.
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