Norwegian record European conger: 36.2 kg

About European conger

The European conger (Conger conger) outweighs every other eel species. It has a long, thick, scaleless body, a large head and an overhanging upper jaw, and it differs from the European eel in that its dorsal fin starts just behind the pectoral fins. It is grey to almost black above. Females grow much larger than males: they are usually 1.5 to 2 m, while males rarely exceed 1 m. The biggest females reach about 3 m and more than 60 kg. Congers live in holes and crevices among rocks, wrecks and breakwaters, from the shore down to around 250 m, hunting fish, squid and crabs at night. At maturity they migrate to great depths in the Atlantic and Mediterranean to spawn once and die. The species ranges north to central Norway. Anglers target it with heavy tackle and fish baits on the bottom, often after dark. Norwegian Red List 2021: Not Applicable (NA).

Sources: Artsdatabanken, Fiskeridirektoratet, Wikipedia

• Habitat: Saltvann
• Best month: Oktober
• Red list status: NA (2021)

See the species guide

Biggest European conger in FishComp

2 kg (6 % of the record) by Frode Lothe. See the catch

How to register a Norwegian record

1. Norwegian sport-fishing records are registered with Villmarksliv, not with FishComp. Read the rules before you do anything else with the fish.
2. Records are based on weight and approved by a jury. You give the weight and length, where it was caught, the gear you used and any witnesses.
3. Keep your photos and notes from the catch. Logging it in FishComp does not register a record.