Little tunny Euthynnus alletteratus “I was groundfishing [for haddock] in 190 feet, 200 feet of water. He did what he could to help out while filming and handed things to Morse, and Martin Scanlan, 16, who was reeling in the fish.

Several times, it swam directly under the boat and the anglers feared the line might be cut by the propeller. Largest of the Tuna Family (and one of the largest of all fishes), it is a voracious eater that is highly migratory. Because bluefin tuna is a large, long-lived species that eats other fish, it may contain high levels of mercury. Morse said it’ll be tough to top that adventure. Although highly migratory, the global bluefin population is recognized by ICCAT as two distinct biological stocks, the Eastern Atlantic (including the Mediterranean Sea) and the Western Atlantic stock (inclusive of our fish in the Gulf of Maine). And eventually, the fish tired enough to be reeled close to the boat. These are small, day-boats fishing by hook and line. We'll keep you up to date with the Large Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus). Bluefin tuna can grow to an enormous size with the largest examples weighing above 1,500 pounds and measuring close to 12 feet in length. Bonito status is unknown. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window).

It took the trio seven hours to catch the massive fish. For generations, Maine Fishermen have gone to sea to line catch these beautiful fish.

The three friends had motored about 30 miles offshore and had anchored when the tuna took the bait at about 9:45 a.m. Buckwalter, who was on his first tuna-fishing trip, had tagged along to film the action he hoped they’d have. These gigantic fish are fast swimming and found in tropical and temperate waters around the world. Tuna is not always labeled by species. a bluefin tuna set a record when it was sold for $1.8 million at auction in Japan. “Wyatt was saying, there’s a million ways to lose it, but only one way to land it.” Buckwalter said. "After that fish, I just kind of got hooked and now I'm now doing that five days a week," he said. It’s like you’re catching a different species. Captain Shawn is a founding board member for the Casco Bay Bluefin Bonanza Charity Tuna Tournament. It was just enormous," said Buckwalter, who recorded the entire event. The teens did end up with a story they’ll tell for years. Off the coast of Portland, Maine, a group of teens recently reeled in the catch of a lifetime. Morse said Scalan's arms got so tired he could barely work the rod, so they would switch out occasionally so he could recover. “It was brutal. Bluefin tuna are surface-dwelling, cold-tolerant, high-jumping, fast-swimming, and one of the largest fishes in the Gulf of Maine, commonly reaching lengths over six feet. Rare in the Gulf of Maine, skipjack occasionally are encountered off Cape Cod and Georges Bank. I was fighting a fish, Wyatt was actually sleeping, and we started screaming, yelling and flipping out,” Buckwalter said. “It just blew my mind when it came out of the water and it was just amazing," said Scanlan. Scanlan pointed at a rod that had bent toward the sea, and Buckwalter hopped up and tended it. Skipjack tuna has long, dark stripes along the belly and sides. He just stayed deep -- 300 feet of water -- and he didn't want to come up," Morse said.