A combined weight of 7,145 pounds for the 12 bluefin tuna landed was a new record at the 14th annual Wedgeport Tuna Tournament and Festival, held Aug. 20 to 26.
“For bluefin, that’s the most weight ever landed,” says Brandon Doucette, tournament coordinator, saying organizers were quite excited there were two yellowfin tuna in the catch this year. Only one yellowfin had been landed previously in the tournament’s history.
Sixteen fishing vessels took part in the tournament this year, which was a record number of participants. Taking the prize for heaviest bluefin was the Capitaine Simon, captained by Yvon Boudreau, landing a 703-pound prize. The largest bluefin caught in the Hell Hole went to the John Harold, captained by Lucien LeBlanc, with a 406-pound catch. The Jasmine & Lexie claimed top prize for most weight, landing one bluefin, two big eye and 10 albacore for a total combined weight of 929 pounds.
The total weight of big eye landed this year was 1,091 pounds, from eight fish. The 31 albacore weighed in at 1,456 pounds, which is down a bit from previous years.
Photos by Kathy Johnson
