IGFA World Record Fish Scraper

Scrapes the complete IGFA (International Game Fish Association) world record database. The IGFA is the recognized global authority on sport-fishing records — this actor gives you structured access to their entire public record catalog.

What data you get

Each record includes:

Field	Description
species_common_name	Common name (e.g. "Bluefin tuna")
species_scientific_name	Scientific name in Genus species format
record_category	Category: All-Tackle, Line Class, Fly Rod, Junior, etc.
line_class	Line class weight (e.g. "10 kg / 20 lb"). Null for all-tackle records.
weight	Record weight with both metric and imperial units
length	Length measurement for all-tackle length records
angler_name	Name of the record-holding angler
catch_location	Water body and region where fish was caught
country	Country of capture (parsed from catch_location)
catch_date	Date the fish was caught
bait_or_lure	Bait or lure used (requires IGFA member login — returns null in public data)
status	Record status: Approved, Pending, Vacant, or Retired
source_url	Direct link to the record on igfa.org
scraped_at	Timestamp of when this record was scraped

Input

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
maxItems	integer	10	Maximum number of records to return. Set to 0 for all records (~35,000–40,000 total).

Coverage

The actor collects records across all IGFA categories:

• All-Tackle — heaviest fish ever caught on any line class
• All-Tackle Length — longest fish by species
• All-Tackle Length Fly — length records on fly tackle
• All-Tackle Length Junior — length records for junior anglers
• Freshwater Line Class — freshwater species across all line weights
• Saltwater Line Class — saltwater species across all line weights
• Pending — records submitted but not yet ratified
• Vacant — record categories with no current holder

Records are deduplicated across categories by IGFA's internal record ID, so each fish record appears exactly once.

Use cases

• Build fishing apps and databases with authoritative species weight/length benchmarks
• Power AI angling assistants with structured world record data
• Enrich species databases — pairs with FishBase data for complete taxonomy
• Research and journalism on record-breaking catches and trends
• Track pending and vacant records for competitive anglers

Notes

• The complete dataset (~35,000+ records including historical/retired entries) runs in a few minutes
• Records are sourced from the IGFA member portal's public search API — no login required
• bait_or_lure field is null for all records (detail endpoint requires IGFA member authentication)
• The IGFA updates records on an ongoing basis — periodic refreshes (quarterly) are sufficient for most use cases