Giant sea bass: underwater size estimates and topside weights

[keithbt]

I saw two GBS this weekend at Italian Gardens. One was as least 350 lbs. the other following it was 150 lbs or so. They were very friendly ones coming back for a slow swim by. It was my girlfriends first dive on Catalina. She finally got Certified, and it could not have been better conditions. 40 ft plus vis early in the morning and 30 ft plus later afternoon, with Giant Black Sea Bass swimming by. I wondered about the weights and what to tell people ....and now with dr. bills pics and weights I can guessestimate. Thanks Again DR. Bill Great info.

 

[drbill]

Yesterday I decided to do some Photoshopping to compare my size with that of the 416 lb fish seen in the historical picture. I researched and found that that GSB was 7' 10" long (may be extended a bit due to it hanging vertically if it was measured that way instead of flat on the deck). I am 6' 1" and in the picture I used about 235 pounds. As you can see, a 400 pounder is indeed one heck of a big fish. I have seen two in this size range. Their lengths were on the order of 7' 6" based on other divers comparing them to the length of my body with my fins extended. For clarification re: the 600 pounder(s) reportedly observed in our waters have never been seen by me, only by other divers and anglers who live here and their estimates are pretty consistent. I cannot personally verify them even though a few of the anglers named one of the big ones "Dr. Bill" after me. I'm not sure if that was an affront to me... or the GSB!

 

[D_B]

Dr. Bill, thanks for the useful information and photos of these great fish.

My daughter came over with my son and I, in August 2010, for her first trip to Catalina and we were lucky enough to see three GSB on our dives. You should have seen her eyes when that first GSB swam in behind me as I was getting ready to take her picture at the Cousteau plaque. It was priceless.

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I saw two GBS this weekend at Italian Gardens. One was as least 350 lbs. the other following it was 150 lbs or so. They were very friendly ones coming back for a slow swim by. It was my girlfriends first dive on Catalina. She finally got Certified, and it could not have been better conditions. 40 ft plus vis early in the morning and 30 ft plus later afternoon, with Giant Black Sea Bass swimming by. I wondered about the weights and what to tell people ....and now with dr. bills pics and weights I can guessestimate. Thanks Again DR. Bill Great info.

How wonderful!
those remind me of one of my most memorable dives, it was at the dive park too.
A Giant Sea Bass as long as my diver friend (on her first dive here) followed us (and only us) around the entire dive like some lost puppy- he was most curious, we could get right up to him within inches , she said he was smitten with her ... well of course he was

thank you DrBill for posting the pics

 

[Rainer]

drbill, how big would you estimate some of the GSBs in this video to be (we saw well over a dozen distinct individuals on this one dive)? I've never really thought about how much they weigh before. Thanks!

[vimeo]26304407[/vimeo]

 

[Dive California]

Note; ... 300 pound BSB (aka GSB) required 90 plus years to attain that weight.

As 300 pounds 90 year as a baseline, with a straight line growth pattern a 600 pound fish would be 180 years old, ...SDM

How long do GBSB live? I was always under the impression (Aquarium of the Pacific info.) that these guys live between 75-80 years.

 

[Sam Miller III]

I don't know...I only wish John Fitch was alive..he spent his life studding The GSB and was a wealth if information...

I recall him saying that a 300 pound GSB required 90 years to reach that weight -- One can only guess how old a 600 pound fish would be.

I do know the GSB was down to a precious few and rarely seen when the harvesting was prohibited in 1972 (or was it 1974?- Dr Bill??)

So in that time frame the GSB have had 35-40 years of potential growth..to reach 300 present day weight they would have had to be around 100-150 pounds as a starting point.

The biggest fish I have ever been personally involved with was a 345 pound fish...It was 8 plus feet long, but have seen fish considerably bigger..

The question is how does a diver get a fish that big into their boat?

SDM

 

[merxlin]

.........................The biggest fish I have ever been personally involved with was a 345 pound fish...It was 8 plus feet long, but have seen fish considerably bigger..

The question is how does a diver get a fish that big into their boat?

SDM

With any luck at all, they don't.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I looked closer at the picture and despite the size difference, both subjects have similar mass.

 

[fnfalman]

I'm no black sea bass sighting expert, but the bulk of the ones I've seen are about my size or just a hair bigger/a hair smaller (I'm 5ft6, 210-lbs). I only saw two massive ones about three years ago off Catalina right at Casino Point. My dive buddy was a 6ft4, 290-lbs guy and when he swam next to these two beasts, they dwarfed him. He looked like a little kid next to them.

 

[drbill]

It is my understanding that as these fish age, they add bulk more quickly than length. "Younger" ones may be long (say 6') but not have a lot of bulk to them until they add a foot and a few hundred pounds. It is such as hame we don't have better records matching age (through otoliths in the ear) with full body weight. That opportunity was largely lost because the commercial catch was usually beheaded (losing the otoliths) and gutted before being brought in.