Two veteran fishermen from Massachusetts were surprised after reeling in what they initially thought was a shark, but it turned out to be a remarkable 1,200-pound marlin, possibly the largest ever recorded on the East Coast.
Damon Sacco, an experienced charter boat captain from the state, had been fishing for several hours on Wednesday when he noticed a large fin emerging from the water around 100 miles off Cape Cod.
At first, he believed it was a huge shark, but upon closer inspection, he thought, “Wow, that’s got a sharp point.” He even suspected it might be “too large for a marlin,” he later recalled.
To his astonishment, Sacco and his client, retiree Walter Chapman, landed an impressive 1,260-pound Atlantic blue marlin, which measured over 11 feet long.
Chapman, who has fished his whole life in Plymouth, MA, battled with the marlin on rod and reel for about three hours, claiming it was the largest fish he had ever fought. Sacco humorously noted that his primary job during the exciting ordeal was to “navigate the boat and encourage the team.”
The marlin left a few noticeable marks on the charter boat, which Sacco playfully referred to as “battle scars.”
Once they brought the massive fish back to shore in Falmouth, MA, a crowd gathered to witness the spectacle. Both fishermen believe they may have recorded the largest Atlantic blue marlin caught off the East Coast.
“Some people fish their whole lives and never get a catch like this,” said local resident Katie Curran, expressing her admiration. “Kudos to Captain Damon Sacco and the crew for this lifetime accomplishment,” she added with a smile.
This marlin weighed just under the world record for an Atlantic blue marlin, which was caught off Brazil in 1992 and is recorded at 1,402 pounds, according to the International Game Fish Association.
Interestingly, catching such a massive fish off the coast of New England is quite rare, commented Walt Golet, director of the University of Maine Pelagic Fisheries Lab.
“I don’t expect we’ll see many blue marlins exceeding 1,200 pounds in the Atlantic in the coming years,” Golet said, noting that the waters in the Northeast are typically too cold for marlin fishing for most of the year.
The 1,260-pound catch was made in Atlantis Canyon, a deep underwater canyon located about 100 miles off Cape Cod.
Golet explained that blue marlins are highly migratory and are only seasonal visitors to that area.
The fish’s head is being sent to the UMaine lab for age determination, and Golet believes it could be around 25 to 30 years old.
Chapman mentioned that the meat from the enormous fish was shared among about twelve people, and he’s now searching for recipes to make the most of it.
“There’s no way I could eat a 1,200-pound fish by myself,” Chapman joked, adding that some of the meat might end up in clam chowder.
