Bluefin Tuna

[roadwarrior]

Forget about tournament fishing, this is where the money is:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,475808,00.html

8-)

[Crumb]

Wow! Now that's a fishin' trip well worth it. I can only imagine that the sushi bar owner will profit it from it none the less. 100 grand for a blue fin tuna and 10 bucks for new menus...Sushi just got a little more expensive.

[bigbaitfisher]

I tuna fish in the summer, and do a tournament or two.  Two years ago we won 3rd place out of 169 boats and took home a little over 11k.  Entry fees were about 2500 (with gas for the boat, too).  Not too bad.

We have a grading device for Tuna.  The japanese are not interested in a fish that is graded under an 8.  I have never seen a tuna above a 6.  It's a weird scale and I'm not sure how it works, but even a 6 is really good tuna.  The insane prices they are paying is for absolutely amazing 10+ tuna that is very fatty, very healthy, and FREE OF HEAVY METAL.

I know a guy who, while shark fishing, landed a 800+ pound Bluefin tuna.  Upon returning to the docks with it, DNR did some testing on it.  It was the HIGHEST EVER mercury levels EVER found in a fish and DNR argued that because of this, the fish could not be sold on the market.  It was argued so long with the fish sitting on the dock that the fish went bad.......

[tallydude]

Haven't I seen a pic of LBH with a giant tuna?

[roadwarrior]

Yep. I guess he hasn't seen this thread.

He used to fish for money, seems like 18K

was his biggest payout.

8-)

[vicdotcom]

Wow! Now that's a fishin' trip well worth it. I can only imagine that the sushi bar owner will profit it from it none the less. 100 grand for a blue fin tuna and 10 bucks for new menus...Sushi just got a little more expensive.

A friend once treated me to bluefin tune sushi in Japan. 75-100$ USD per piece! Honestly to me, it tasted like tuna lol I told her before hand that it would have been wasted on me. But she didnt care. Apparently its a status symbol not to be eaten alone.

But once word gets out of a place having high-quality blue-fin, the shop gets booked up and filled quickly. Even if they dont make a profit selling the tuna, their increased clientel list eventually pays off on the back end epsecially when you factor in drinks and other specialties.

I had no tounge to tell good sushi from ok sushi. Now Kobe beef :::: that is a whole new ballgame!

Whats funny is that Blue-fin tuna was once so abundant, it was sold to dogfood companies.  But there are different grades of bluefin tuna.  Not every one will catch that price. Has something to do with the fat content I think.

[rippin_lips]

I was lucky enough to hook up with a 130# tuna east of Cape Cod this summer.  What a fight!  It took my 9" slug-go and ran so hard  it caused the spinning reel to start smoking.  35 minutes later, fresh sushi!  If you ever have to opportunity to fish for these amazing fish, give it a go.

[David Varghese]

dang!!!!!!!!!

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

Although that article is enticing,it is not the synopsis of what the Bluefin industry has become. I got out of it because the money was no longer justified.

Buyers and brokers are in cahoots so when you come to the dock, the prices are pre-set, the bargaining days of yesterryear are gone.

Add to that, the per seine quotas have sky rocketed while the rod & reel quotas get lower and lower every year. It's a monopoly. There are only a handful of fleet owners that make up something like 88% of what's harvested, the rest is slimpickings for rod/reel guys like me and spear boats (Harpoon boats w/spotter planes)

It was getting to the point where I was selling a fish I KNEW to be grade B,B+ for 3K when it should get an easy 9 and then the quota is filled a day later. 2 day season. what the????? a reel is 1k, a rod $500,....x4..... gas,bait,high end electronics, yadda yadda, it adds up.

Wasn't cost Justified anymore

I have lots of pics if anyones interested but they're a good 8-10 yrs old now.