When Sarah Landry first heard the line drop off her reel, she had no idea there was a 800-pound tuna on the end of it.
The co-owner of the Poissonnerie Gagnon fish market in Rimouski, Quebec, traveled to Baie-des-Chaleurs, a bay wedged between the Gaspé Peninsula and New Brunswick, with two fishermen who hoped to catch a bluefin tuna, which typically weighs about 225 kilograms.
About 10 minutes after casting their rod they felt movement.
“We focused. There were five of us on the boat, and it was pretty physical,” Landry said.
“We were exhausted after an hour and 20 minutes of fighting to capture the beast.”
He says the team was lucky.
When the tuna tired, fishermen used instruments to tie it tightly and pull it onto the ship. It weighed a whopping 385 kilograms, or 850 pounds.
Last year, her brother managed to catch a tuna weighing 330 kilograms, but she claims that this specimen set a new record in their business.
“This really is the biggest. It’s probably going to be tough to break that record,” Landry said.
“We buy them all the time, that’s one thing, but you know you have to go and fish and then have that experience at sea [is another].”
“Customers can’t wait to try it”
After preparing the fish and transporting it to Rimouski on Thursday, the shop is gearing up for a busy day after news of the unusual catch was posted online.
Some 215 kilograms of fish are on sale from 10:00 a.m. as part of the market’s annual tuna sale.
Landry expects a line similar to last year’s.
“Demand is high,” Landry said.
“I’ve doubled the number of employees here. … Customers can’t wait to try it, and the bigger it gets, the happier we’ll make them.”
“Exceptional” catch – says fisherman with 50 years of experience
Richard Desbois, who has been fishing for five decades, says the trip was a sport in itself.
“It’s a big fish that always surprises,” said Desbois, a snow crab fisherman.
It’s one of the largest bluefin tuna he’s ever caught. He estimates it could fetch about $5,000.
“This is totally unique,” Desbois said. “We had a great fight with it.”
He claims he kept some for himself and already has the recipe in mind.
“I marinate it in oil with ginger and a little bit of soy sauce,” Desbois said. “It’s perfect. It’s really tender and tasty.”
