Brendin Page of Savannah is the newest Georgia saltwater gamefish record holder after landing a 205 pound 8-ounce swordfish while fishing offshore on May 31. Page’s fish bested the previous men’s record held by W.H. Lippitt since 1980 by almost 20 pounds.
 Page was aboard the vessel “SLO-N-EZ” captained by Kent Phillips when he caught the swordfish 15 miles east of the R3 Tower in 1,500 feet of water. Page fought the fish for one and a half hours before landing it. Charles Russo of Russo’s Fresher Seafoods in Savannah certified the weight of the catch.
 The Coastal Resources Division maintains records in men and women categories for 58 species of saltwater fishes, including 13 species of sharks.
“Finding certified scales is often the biggest challenge for anglers wishing to enter a fish for consideration,” said Jeff Mericle, CRD saltwater gamefish records coordinator.  “We tell fishermen to check with local seafood markets since they typically have a Georgia Department of Agriculture certified scale,” Mericle explained.  Anglers may also check with their local grocery stores and farm supply stores.
 The landing of a large fish is always cause for excitement and pride, but CRD encourages anglers to familiarize themselves with the current records before they harvest a fish thinking it’s a potential record-breaker. A complete list of current saltwater records is available at www.CoastalGaDNR.org along with rules and applications. Several clear photographs of the fish should accompany the application.  There are also minimum weights for several species. For more information, contact Jeff Mericle at (912) 264-7218 or jeff.mericle@gadnr.org.