Putting a Fish in the Hold

This picture is again of my brother, Chris, putting one the tuna we caught into our fish hold. The hold is filled with salt water brined ice to keep the fish fresh. (click image to enlarge)

What We're Looking For

The first picture below is of a bunch of Northern bluefin tuna milling around on the surface late in the afternoon, around 6 PM. While the second picture is of a pair of bluefin tuna floating down wind on a calm day (the two dark wakes are the two individual fish). No one is quite sure why they come up to the surface, but as harpooners this is the only place we can catch them. I am not sure how many people will appreciate the sight of tuna as much as me, but if you do you will probably like these pictures. Both of these pictures were taken in the gulf of Maine, about 20 miles off the coast. (click image to enlarge)

These are a few pictures I have taken since tuna season started on June 1st. The first photo is of my father, Steve, going up on a bunch of about 15 Northern Atlantic Bluefin tuna. The second and third photo are of my brother, Chris, going up on two separate pairs of tuna (you can't see the second fish in the third photo, it is off to the left). My father and brother are standing out on a pulpit in these pictures, about 25.5' off the tip of the bow. In all the photos, there are purple blobs beneath the V-like wakes. Those are the individual tunas. In the second pictures, you can see the left fish very clearly. My first photo on the blog was similar to these photos but shows a much more detailed look at the tuna itself. 

A Lone Giant

This picture of me was taken last summer by my brother Chris. My father is steering me up behind a crazy, giant single that we ran across on our way in. As you can see from the big, zig-zagging wake in front of me, this tuna was big and smart, just trying to watch its own back. In the end, this tuna's survival tactics paid off as we did not get a great chance with the harpoon. (click image to enlarge)

Harpooning Sequences

The collage of pictures below consists of a series of shot taken of my father harpooning an Atlantic Bluefin tuna. You can see the fish under the water (purple blobs) if you look under the the little V shaped wakes in front of my father. In the last shot of the sequence, you can see the fish swimming away with the rope coming out of its back (look to the left of my fathers left knee). It may help to click on the image below to enlarge the photo.

The link below is to a video photo compilation of a longer sequence of photos in which my brother harpoons another Bluefin tuna. The fish in the video compilation was about 300 pounds and was caught in the Gulf of Maine. The quality of the pictures below are not great given the movie making program, but one can get an idea of the practice of harpooning by watching the film.

Harpooning Atlantic Bluefin Tuna -- Video Compilation