Man Catches 881 Pound Tuna
A Massachusetts fisherman officially pulled up an 881 pound tuna this year, only to find out that he couldn’t keep it. Because of licensing issues, the fish was confiscated, and while it sounds ridiculous, all of this is completely true.
Mr. Rafael, the would be record breaking fisherman, and his crew used nets to catch bottom dwelling fish, and they inadvertently happened to catch this particular fish. When they docked though, federal fishery enforcement agents took control of the giant tuna. The reason was simple, despite what you may think.
The boat Rafael was on did not actually have tuna permits, and fisherman are only technically allowed to catch tuna with rod and reel by law. The fact that it was an accident had no bearing. Rafael didn’t need a bigger boat, just a better permit and a rod and reel with the intent to specifically fish for tuna. Going out on his particular expedition, anyone could admit that he had no way of knowing what was coming.
Rafael has been interviewed in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) enforcement division, who state that he caught the tuna at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. He has disputed this idea. Rafael states, “They didn’t catch that fish on the bottom. They probably got it in the mid-water when they were setting out and it just got corralled in the net. That only happens once in a blue moon.”
However, the pride of catching a fish that big is not the only thing that Rafael has had taken away from him. Selling a fish like that would actually bring in quite a bit of money. A 754 pound tuna recently sold for $396,000. You can imagine how much a fish over 100 pounds heavier would sell for. Unfortunately, the NOAA has no responsibility or intention of sharing the profits of this fish with the fisherman who actually caught it.
Monica Allen, a deputy director with the NOAA fisheries has stated, “This rule is important to the conservation of this unusual fish that is severely depleted and managed internationally by more than 48 nations. Because they are slow to mature and reproduce, rebuilding this species population is a lengthy and difficult process.”