The sport of fishing has always existed within a bit of a paradox.
You’re simply not going to be interested in fishing without some sense of appreciation for nature and animals.
But if that appreciation gets to be too excessive, your wall would never be mounted with a thing.
That eternal inner struggle for fishermen was thrust to the forefront after some eye-popping reports of an angler in Italy who bagged a trophy truly worthy of the name — he just chose not to keep it.
Multiple outlets, including Business Insider, are reporting that Italian fisherman Alessandro Biancardi caught himself the kind of fish you’d expect to see in a fantasy novel or video game.
But no, Biancardi’s monstrous catfish was caught in the Po River last month, which is situated in Northern Italy.
The catfish was reportedly a whopping 9-feet, 4-inches long, which many think would be the world record for the biggest catfish caught in a river.
Take a look at the monstrosity for yourself:
A professional angler in Italy reeled in what is believed to be a Guinness World Record catfish, measuring in at more than 9 ft long. The fish was safely released back into the waters of the Po River after being measured and documented. pic.twitter.com/yvzWeYO0jZ
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) June 7, 2023
Would you have kept this fish to measure and weigh?
Yes: 24% (12 Votes)
No: 76% (38 Votes)
Now, it’s at this point in the story that most people might be trying to figure out how to bring this potential world-record catfish trophy home.
That thought apparently never crossed Biancardi’s mind, as the fisherman showed himself to be a true sportsman.
According to a blog post from Biancardi’s professional fishing team Madcat, Biancardi wrote, “I decided to safely release it, hoping it could give another angler the same joy he gave to me.”
Indeed, catching any fish is a thrill. Catching something that, as Biancardi describes in his blog, a “prehistoric fish” is a once-in-a-lifetime thrill.
Biancardi wanting that feeling to be experienced by others is a neat show of sportsmanship.
But it’s also easier to be a good sport when you think you’re on the verge of breaking a world record.
Once the catfish was caught, it was quickly measured and turned out to be 285 centimeters (roughly 9-feet, 4-inches). According to Business Insider, that would beat the record by over an inch.
Now, one world record is nice, but two is better.
Biancardi could’ve also weighed his monster catch, but ultimately chose not to due to that aforementioned love of God’s Earthly creatures.
“I was very curious about the weight but I feared to stress too much that rare specimen,” Biancardi wrote on his team’s blog.
Business Insider noted that the current length measurement has been submitted for verification with the International Game Fish Association.
