Richard Ellis, in his book, "TUNA - A love Story" states that "the The Atlantic northern bluefin can travel from New England to the Mediterranean, then turn around and swim back, giving them the distinction of being the longest migrator of any fish species.  These fish can weigh in at up to 1,500 lbs and, in an instant, pick up speed to fifty-five miles per hour." 

Tuna have long been sought off of the New England coastline by sport fishermen and commercial fishermen.  Newburyport harbor boasts of some of the the most talented anglers on the East Coast.

Capt. Bob Yeomans has been fishing and catching tuna for over 40 years.  During that time we have seen the real giants of the 1970's and 80's  (fish up to 1100 lbs) and a price range of 40 cents a pound up to a very rare $20.00 per lb.  The Japanese hunger for sushi quality tuna sent the prices paid to fishermen skyrocketing and new technology was developed to allow fishermen to catch more tuna.

A plunge in numbers and sizes brought about strict regulations - a necessity to protect the future of these fish.

Tuna fishing is still active out of Newburyport, but the fish are much smaller and the regulations more strict.  The high cost of fuel last year kept us at the dock, but Bob and his crew have made it out a few times this year:

            Our first fish of the year was caught on 9-8-09 and dressed out at 357 lbs. - it was a good quality fish caught off of our waters.

            Bob traveled to Chatham on Sept. 30th and he and his crew pulled in two giants - dressing out at 605 lbs and 636 lbs.  These fish did

            not have the quality of the fish caught off of Newburyport.  We will be fishing closer to home for awhile. 

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