Cape Cod’s Anglers Hooked by Tuna Mania

CHATHAM, Mass. —  Big tuna are so plentiful off Cape Cod this year that inexperienced weekend fishermen are taking to the seas--and getting in over their heads.

At least three vessels have capsized in the last week, two of them because the fish were too big for the boats.

“So far, we’ve been very fortunate that we haven’t lost anyone yet,” said Coast Guard Lt. Craig Jaramillo.

In the 47 years he has been fishing off Cape Cod, old salt Russ Chase said he has never seen tuna fever like this. “You get the plumbers going out, you get the carpenters,” he said.

Fisheries officials are not sure exactly why there is an abundance of tuna this year. What is certain is that fishermen are risking their necks for the thrill of landing a 700-pound tuna--and because a single fish can bring in a lot of clams.

At an average of $6 to $8 a pound, a big tuna can mean earning $4,000 to $5,000 for one day’s work. And there are rumors that buyers from Japan, where tuna is prized for sushi, will pay $50,000 for an especially fatty bluefin, said Kevin Sullivan of the National Marine Fisheries Service in New Bedford.

Willie Hatch, who fishes on the 30-foot fishing boat Big Eye II, said he caught a 650-pound tuna on Monday and intended to go out again this week. The fishing has been so good, Hatch said, that he’s seen hundreds of boats at one time clustered in prime waters, looking for a bite.

“It’s sort of gone crazy,” he said. “There’s so much pressure when the bite’s on. . . . There’s the potential to make a lot of money, and people do stupid things like going out in bad weather.”

Many of the weekend fishermen are venturing 50 miles or so off Cape Cod in small boats that aren’t sturdy enough to handle a bluefin tuna.

“With the weather changing real quick, they can get into trouble,” said Andrea Currie, acting commander of the Coast Guard cutter Hammerhead, which has stepped up patrols of the tuna fishing grounds. “You’ll have two or three people in a boat, they’ll catch a tuna and all go to the same side of the boat with the fish--then over they go.”

On Sept. 23, a 28-foot boat was hauling a 600-pound fish off Nantucket when it swamped and sank. Another vessel rescued the skipper and crew.

The next day, a 27-foot boat capsized while being towed to port after running into problems tangling with a tuna. That night, the skipper of a 19-foot vessel had to be rescued after it capsized during a battle with a tuna.

Fisheries officers have gone undercover on the piers and on the fishing grounds, investigating tips that some people are catching more than one tuna per day--a federal offense punishable by a fine up to $100,000.

The Coast Guard is also boarding and inspecting fishing vessels, checking to make sure they have the added safety equipment--rafts, flares, immersion suits and beacons--that is required farther from shore.

“Our primary concern is that we don’t lose anyone,” Jaramillo said.