Wicked Tuna

WICKED TUNA

Good evening guys! Today I would like to share with you guys about one of my favourite TV show, Wicked Tuna on National Geographic channel. This is a reality television series about commercial tuna fisherman based in Gloucester, Massachusettes who fish for the lucrative Atlantic bluefin tuna in the North Atlantic Ocean. The teams of fisherman fight each other to catch the most fish.

Source: Google images

They can only catch those tuna at a certain time because they have seasons. Outside those seasons, they cannot catch the fish as it is illegal. The season is only once a year. Small tuna they cannot bring back, so if the fish take the bait, they have to release it back into the sea. 

Hard Merchandise crew with their Bluefin Tuna.
Source: Google images

 There are six main fisherman's boat compete in each season:

1. FV Tuna.com
2. Hard Merchandise
3. The Pin Wheel
4. The Hot Tuna
5. Wicked Pissah
6. The Fish Hawk

Hot Tuna crew with their catch.
Source: Google image

 The commercial value for Bluefin Tuna is very high. The fish they caught will be exported to Japan, the largest consumers for tuna. The price of the tuna they have caught is depending on the quality of the fish. The buyers will check the quality of the fish based on the fat content and the colour of the meat. The more fat those fish have, the higher the price. The highest value of a fish I have seen so far is 28$ a pound. Let say the fish is 500 pounds, then the price of a fish is 14000$. That is a huge amount for a fish man! 

Again, Hot Tuna crew and their catch.
Source: Google image

 To catch a tuna, the must have teamwork. The fish is very strong. They must fight the fish for at least two hours and if the fish is so enormous the fight can last up to four to five hours. A man alone cannot bring fight the fish. They will take turn to reel in the fish. When the fish is near to the boat (tired from the fight), they will spear the fish using a harpoon. Then, they pull the fish alongside the boat and put a rope on the tail. Once the rope is on the tail, it can be considered the fish is caught already.

See, how big is the fish.
Source: Google image

Of course, there will be a lot of frustration when fishing especially when the fish break the line and sometimes shark took the bait. Since shark does not have any value in the market, normally the will just cut off the fishing line. They compete each other to become the champion of the season.