Man catches 881-pound tuna, seized by feds

[Death Pony]

It's a shame that it's dead. I've seen fish of that size in the Monterey Bay Aquarium and it's amazing what they can do during feeding time. Actually, the blue fins just cruise to the food, everything else gets out of their way. THis species needs more protection, there are so few left.

 

[C L O W N K N I F E]

Heard this news, bogus as hell...feds seized it for themselves just cuz the guy caught it with a net and not rod and reel...smh

 

[ballinouttacntrol]

Our Oceans are dying, and its a really shame that people like this fisherman live on the planet, people should be more respectful of our world. What a complete waste of a beautiful fish, no wonder many fish species are dying out.

would it have made a difference if it were caught with a rod instead of a net? fish would've still dyed and been sold for food.

you must be oppose to all fishermen then?

 

[spotfin]

Heard this news, bogus as hell...feds seized it for themselves just cuz the guy caught it with a net and not rod and reel...smh

Plain and simple- the guy caught it illegally with a net. Of course NOAA enforcement was going to seize it. What should they have done? Given it back to the fisherman?

 

[C L O W N K N I F E]

Plain and simple- the guy caught it illegally with a net. Of course NOAA enforcement was going to seize it. What should they have done? Given it back to the fisherman?

Yes, they should have given it back to him. How many times does a fisherman like him catch one of those without the intention, especially ones that big? Who cares wtf he caught it with, he never even learned you couldn't catch one with a net. It bothers me you agree that what the feds did was right...

 

[Death Pony]

It's illegal to net catch these because they're critically endangered. Net fishing allows them to be caught in large numbers, rod and reel allows only one to be caught at a time. There are only a few thousand left. Banning net fishing is one of the better ways to ensure their survival.

 

[Eupterus]

Our Oceans are dying, and its a really shame that people like this fisherman live on the planet, people should be more respectful of our world. What a complete waste of a beautiful fish, no wonder many fish species are dying out.

I agree. And when people choose to eat fish , they need to make sustainable choices. Monterey bay aquarium has a list.

 

[JD7.62]

Plain and simple- the guy caught it illegally with a net. Of course NOAA enforcement was going to seize it. What should they have done? Given it back to the fisherman?

Yes. The fish was not caught purposely with the net. It was BY CATCH. The fisherman bought the tag incase this happened thinking it would cover him. Do you think he would have bought the tag and then called it in before he made port if he knew it was illegal? The point of "rod and reel only" is to outlaw intentional net fishing for tuna. This is an example of our gooberment not being able to see the forrest for the trees.

It's illegal to net catch these because they're critically endangered. Net fishing allows them to be caught in large numbers, rod and reel allows only one to be caught at a time. There are only a few thousand left. Banning net fishing is one of the better ways to ensure their survival.

Im not disagreeing with you that bluefin need to be protected. They need to be prevented from being harvested COMMERCIALLY. However I would like to know where you got that population number from cause im calling BS.

Overall what we have in this situation is the .gov micro managing our lives and preventing another honest American from making a living. If the government would allow the fish to be harvested and sold incase of accidental bycatch like this, the fish was dead anyway, the fisherman would have made some $$, the .gov would have made some $$ in form of the tags and tax on income and the wonderful fish wouldnt have been wasted. Now, the fisherman is out of money, the .gov is spending tax payers $$ dealing with this case, and the magnificent animal is going to be held as evidence and then eventually thrown out after it starts to stink.

 

[spotfin]

I've got friends who are commercial fishermen and they know the law inside and out. I think its a cop out to say, "I didn't know" on something like that. He probably knew but admitting to knowing is admitting to committing a crime. Plus, we all get to learn something. The lesson here is if you are a small business man you can't afford the bribes it takes to get the feds to look the other way. Now mitsubishi on the other hand has that kind of money and so they are destroying tuna stocks.

Ding ding ding! The commercial fishing community is a tight-knit group. They are well aware if what is right and wrong. This particular fisherman has a small fleet of ground fishing boats. He surely knows that the other boat owners/captains in New Bedford don't land tuna caught in nets.

Yes, they should have given it back to him. How many times does a fisherman like him catch one of those without the intention, especially ones that big? Who cares wtf he caught it with, he never even learned you couldn't catch one with a net. It bothers me you agree that what the feds did was right...

Giving it back to the fisherman is setting a very bad example. Rules are set for a reason. How long would it take until the next guy catches a tuna in a net and claims he didn't know it was illegal, knowing that he would get the fish back in the end.

Yes. The fish was not caught purposely with the net. It was BY CATCH. The fisherman bought the tag incase this happened thinking it would cover him. Do you think he would have bought the tag and then called it in before he made port if he knew it was illegal? The point of "rod and reel only" is to outlaw intentional net fishing for tuna. This is an example of our gooberment not being able to see the forrest for the trees.



Im not disagreeing with you that bluefin need to be protected. They need to be prevented from being harvested COMMERCIALLY. However I would like to know where you got that population number from cause im calling BS.

Overall what we have in this situation is the .gov micro managing our lives and preventing another honest American from making a living. If the government would allow the fish to be harvested and sold incase of accidental bycatch like this, the fish was dead anyway, the fisherman would have made some $$, the .gov would have made some $$ in form of the tags and tax on income and the wonderful fish wouldnt have been wasted. Now, the fisherman is out of money, the .gov is spending tax payers $$ dealing with this case, and the magnificent animal is going to be held as evidence and then eventually thrown out after it starts to stink.

Again, the government sets rules and regulations for a reason. If every Tom, Dick, and Harry went out to fish commercially for tuna w/o any rules, there wouldn't be any tuna left.

The only one who lost out on this deal was the tuna. Keep in mind the plight of the bluefin tuna extends well beyond US waters.

 

[JD7.62]

Again, the government sets rules and regulations for a reason. If every Tom, Dick, and Harry went out to fish commercially for tuna w/o any rules, there wouldn't be any tuna left.

The only one who lost out on this deal was the tuna. Keep in mind the plight of the bluefin tuna extends well beyond US waters.

Re-read my post. I said that commercial fishing for bluefin needs to be stopped. However, there will always be bycatch. In those cases the fish is already dead by the time the nets are pulled up. Since the fish is dead anyhow, we should set up a system that keeps the fish from being wasted. That system would benefit all from the .gov, to the fisherman, to the wholesaler, to the seafood company, to the restaurant and ultimately to the people who got to enjoy the fish for dinner. No need in wasting a fish that was already dead and accidently caught.