Tag Archives: giant bluefin tuna
Rye, N.H. fisherman Keper Connell hooks consumer wave with his Gulf of Maine tinned tuna
Each tin of Gulf of Maine Conservas tuna begins with fisherman Keper Connell boarding Figment, his 45-foot Novi, long before sunrise to make the two-hour, 25 mile journey from Rye Harbor in New Hampshire to Jeffreys Ledge. Connell doesn’t catch tuna on every trip to the ledge, but when a giant bluefin does strike his line, he 
still gets a rush of adrenaline. In 2019, he began experimenting with canning some of his catch, getting the right blend of fresh fish, Calivirgin olive oil and salt. He contracted with a cannery in Oregon and launched his business, Gulf of Maine Conservas. “I’m catching the fish, I’m portioning it, I’m cooking it and then I’m containing it,” he said. “All you as the consumer have to do is open it and enjoy it.” >click to read< 16:34
Before tuna fishing was ‘wicked’
Before tuna fishing became “wicked,” local fishermen had been capturing and hauling giant bluefin tuna off the coast for years. The dangerous task has gone on to gain notoriety with the popular show “Wicked Tuna,” but the history of catching giant bluefins has deep roots in Newburyport going back generations. Newburyport residents Lee and Bob Yeomans are both experienced at fishing for tuna and hand-lining. “My husband, Bob, and I have a goal to preserve the history of this very dangerous, challenging way of capturing giant bluefin tuna,” Lee Yeomans said. She is leading a project to capture the stories of fishermen. Eighty-eight-year-old Newbury resident Carl Beal Jr. wrote of his experience fishing for giant bluefins with his father off Newburyport in summer 1948 in “Tuna Fishing Peril,” one of many stories about the history of local tuna fishing. >click to read< 11:02
DEM seizes 9ft tuna from Massachusetts charter they say was fishing illegally in RI waters
The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management seized a 113-inch giant bluefin tuna from a Massachusetts charter boat last week and issued a criminal summons for the boat’s captain. The fish was seized after environmental police officers determined that the captain had paying clients on his vessel and didn’t have the required state commercial fishing license and permit to fish in Rhode Island state waters, the DEM said. The boat was escorted to port, where the fish was seized and sold to a licensed dealer, the DEM said. The money from the sale is being held in escrow. >click to read< 14:43
‘Wicked Tuna’ captain sets sights on selling you tuna
“People have said this to me a hundred times, ‘Where can we get some of the fish that we see you catch on the show?’ I bet I have been asked that a thousand times. and I can’t send them anywhere to get a piece of the fish,” besides a few local restaurants, he said, or maybe a sushi buyer looking for tuna with a high fat for the Asian market. “We’ve put this name in the households,” Marciano said. “We’ve put the idea of this product in people’s heads. Right now we just can’t send it to them. Well, that’s about to change.” Starting Sept. 1, Marciano, whose Angelica Fisheries offers fishing charters aboard the fishing vessels Hard Merchandise and Falcon from Gloucester, is casting out his reality show fame to hook customers as he starts a new business called Angelica Seafoods. Photos, >click to read< 07:25
Bluefin Blowout Back in Action With Big Fish and Even Bigger Fundraising for Alzheimer’s Association
Thousands of pounds of tuna were caught and hundreds of thousands of dollars were raised for the Alzheimer’s Association last week as the Bluefin Blowout tournament returned to Gloucester, the United State’s oldest fishing port, following a two-year hiatus forced by COVID. “We had great weather and really wonderful fishing conditions,” says Warren Waugh, managing partner of event sponsor and organizer Lyon-Waugh Auto Group. “We had good crowds, we had very competitive captains and crews, and the fish cooperated. The giant bluefin tuna were in abundance.” The winning fish weighed in at 688 pounds, earning Gloucester-based crew of the F/V Easy Scrapin’, a cash prize of $125,000,,, >click to read< 14:54
‘Wicked Tuna’ rivalry gives way to cooperation
The coronavirus pandemic’s tidal wave of challenges made its way to the high seas, and viewers of “Wicked Tuna” will see a new dynamic when the 10th season opens with a 90-minute premiere Sunday at 9 p.m. The show is known for following Gloucester fishermen in the highly competitive hunt for giant bluefin tuna and the race back to shore in search of the highest price,,, That is until COVID-19 prompted a business shutdown nearly a year ago, with restaurants shuttered or operating at a fraction of their capacity. The market and demand for the usually lucrative bluefin sank. “It was great to see fishermen working together with buyers to do the best we could in these difficult times,” said Capt. Dave Marciano,,, >click to read< 14:03
A veteran commercial fisherman’s invite to fish for giants came along and I wasted no time in accepting.
Catching a giant bluefin with rod and reel has been on my bucket list for a long time. I grew up on the water and spent several summers as part of a crew that fished with handline or harpoon. My life’s path led me away from the ocean, and for years I’d wanted to go back and do it again with more sporting tackle. Decades passed without an opportunity and my desire was relegated to the back burner until a recent series of events rekindled the flame. Several more years passed as I tried unsuccessfully to mooch my way onto a boat until I eventually connected with fellow Mainer, Don Fletcher. A veteran commercial fisherman, Don switched over to tuna fishing after he acquired an Ocean Yachts 55 SS he named the Blue Bandit. When the invitation came to join him, I wasted no time in accepting. Continue reading the story here 16:52
‘Wicked Tuna’ – The boys are back – Catch it – Season 3
The aquatic battle continues with National Geographic Channel’s Season 3 of “Wicked Tuna,” which airs Sunday night at 9. And this season promises to be the most competitive yet, with a larger number of captains competing to see who pulls in the most lucrative catch of the giant bluefin tuna, which can weigh more than 1,500 pounds and can sell for more than $20,000. Read more@GDT 00:50
