Blue fin goodness

NEWBURYPORT -- "That's a big fish."
That was the comment most of those on the city's boardwalk had yesterday watching the Yankee Fisherman's Co-op pull a bluefin tuna off the Erica Lee II.
Newburyporter Adam Foley, the man who hooked and helped reel in the fish, was no exception. The fishing and hunting enthusiast | who is not small in stature himself | stood next to the fish, and with a wide grin, quipped: "I like this one; I don't make it look small."
The boat pulled into the Newburyport harbor about 4 p.m. yesterday, where a truck from the Co-op, located in Seabrook, was waiting. The large bluefin tuna weighed somewhere between 550 and 625 pounds, the fishermen estimated, and was 110 inches | or more than 9 feet long.
"It's a nice one," Foley said.
The catch is all the more special, said those at the boardwalk who are involved in the fishing industry, since there's a been a decline in the tuna catch in recent years. Bob Yeomans, who owns the Erica Lee II and has fished his entire life, last year caught no tuna. Yeomans helped Foley reel in the big fish.
Yesterday's catch was his fourth of the season | a far cry from years past.
His wife, Lee Yeomans, who watched the boat come in and took pictures of her husband and Foley next to the tuna, said she remembers a season many years ago when her husband brought in 21 fish.
"It's been bad," Lee said of the tuna fishing. "The commercial fishing isn't there anymore."
Marvin Perkins, from the Yankee Fisherman's Co-op, said the fish Foley and Yeomans caught "is a larger fish than most this season." He said the fish will go up for auction either today or tomorrow and will fetch between $8 to $12 per pound. He agreed the tuna fishing just isn't like it used to be.
"It's been slow for the last couple of years," Perkins said.
Foley said he caught the tuna about 15 miles from shore using herring as bait. He said the waters were rough yesterday, and there was only one other boat out on the water near them fishing for tuna.
"It was real rough out there (yesterday) morning," he said. "That's the nice part about having a big boat."
When he landed the fish, Foley said it ran for about 300 yards, diving straight toward the ocean's floor, which is normal behavior for tuna. Some other large fish, such as marlin, jump out of the water when caught. He said it took a hour to reel the tuna in, taking turns with Yeomans.
"I'll tell you," he said, "it's an experience, man."


Hey now... this is a story I wrote for tomorrow's paper. I was walking along the Newburyport boardwalk today and saw two fishermen pull into the harbor and unload this thing. So I called the photographer to come take a picture and I started asking some questions.

My only experience with tuna before this was choosing Chicken of the Sea or StarKist. The fish felt like it was wearing armor -- the skin was hard and oily.