iStockphoto / Whitepointer
- A massive 832-pound Bluefin Tuna caught in Destin, Florida and it would break the existing state fishing record of 826-pound, 8-ounces if it wasn’t for a technicality
- The existing Florida state fishing record for Bluefin Tuna has stood in place since May 2017 and that fish was caught by a single angler while no ‘angler’ is listed for the new record-setting tuan
- Read more Fishing Records stories here
A group of fishermen in Destin, Florida just landed one of the largest fish ever caught in the state of Florida. The 832-pound Bluefin Tuna would easily be a Florida state fishing record if it wasn’t for a technicality. Regardless of the technicality, it’s still one of the largest fish ever caught in the Sunshine State and the pictures of this bluefin tuna are out of this world.
In order for a fishing record to be certified it needs to have been caught by one fisherman. The vast majority of recreational and serious anglers on the planet know this. It’s just part of the game. The same is true for Big Game fishing tournaments where there are typically designated anglers.
The reason this 832-pound Bluefin Tuna caught in Destin isn’t a new state fishing record is because the listed angler is “whole team”, meaning that everyone on the boat took turns fighting the fish. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. I cannot tell you the number of times in my life that we’ve passed the rod around when fighting big fish. But it does mean this fish cannot be certified as a new fishing record despite breaking the previous record by several pounds.
832-Pound Bluefin Tuna Misses Florida Fishing Record On Technicality
Devin Sarver posted photos of the record-worthy Bluefin Tuna on Facebook. It tipped the scales at a whopping 832.2 pounds and it took fiver anglers 4.5 hours to reel in this absolute beast of a fish!
More Details On This Near-Record Tuna
According to the board in the images and the caption on Facebook, the boat they were fishing on was named ‘Noname’ which is a perfectly cromulent name for a fishing boat. It took five fishermen 4.5 hours to reel it in before they brought it back to the Harbor Walk Marina where they weighed the fish on April 17, 2022.
Fishing for Bluefin Tuna in Florida is a gamble. There’s no guarantee you are going to catch one of these as it’s a pretty rare species in the Sunshine State. However, should you catch one there are some rules in place. Any Bluefin Tuna caught in Florida is supposed to be reported to NOAA within 24 hours of being caught. Furthermore, anyone fishing for Bluefin Tuna must have a HMS Angling Permit and that’s not just to keep the fish, if you’re out there targeting this species you still need that permit onboard the boat. Those permits are only $26 but you must apply for them on the NOAA website and it can take about 2 weeks to process.
How Does This Bluefin Tuna Compare To Other Fishing Records?
Bluefin Tuna is one of the biggest species of fish on the entire planet. IGFA keeps all fishing world records and they don’t separate Bluefin into Atlantic and Pacific like some subspecies of tuna. The IGFA all-tackle fishing world record for Bluefin Tuna is an unfathomably large 1,496-pound fish that was caught in Aulds Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada back in 1979.
The existing state fishing record in Florida for Bluefin Tuna is an 826.5-pound fish caught by angler Rick Whitley. According to For The Win, Whitley was also fishing out of Destin, Florida and that fish was caught back on May 8, 2017. Staying in the Gulf of Mexico but over in Texas, the Lonestar State record for Bluefin is 876-pounds and that record was actually broken last Summer.
But every serious tuna angler knows it’s the North Atlantic that yields the biggest bluefin tuna on the planet. If your goal is to catch one of these fish weighing over 1,000-pounds you’ll want to start in Cape Cod and head north from there to give yourself the best shot at a grander tuna.