New Zealand Angler’s 907-pound Bluefin Tuna Challenges World Record
OutdoorHub Reporters 03.31.14
On February 19, Donna Pascoe of New Zealand found herself fighting a massive Pacific bluefin tuna for over four hours. After she managed to land the beast, crew members began congratulating her—they told her she just took the new world record.
According to the Houhora Big Game & Sport Fishing Club, Pascoe’s fish weighed in at just over 907 pounds. If that weight stands, it would make the catch more than 167 pounds heavier than the current world record kept on-file by the International Game Fish Association (IGFA).
“Once we had the fish, I was so excited that my arms and legs could have fallen off and I wouldn’t have noticed,” Pascoe told the Saltwater Sportsman when she was back on dry land. “I think adrenalin is a great thing and it certainly kept me going.”
Pascoe was onboard the charter boat Gladiator near Three Kings Island when the large tuna struck. It was not until three hours into the fight that the fish surfaced for the first time, and Pascoe described reeling in the tuna as similiar to fighting a “freight train.”
The angler has since submitted documentation to the New Zealand Sportfishing Council, which in turn will send it off to IGFA. Pascoe is currently in the running for both women’s record for bluefin on rod and reel as well as the all-tackle record. Pascoe added that she is especially proud of her catch “because it beats all the boys.”
The current record for Pacific bluefin tuna is a 739-pound, six-ounce fish reeled in by Nathan Adams in 2012 near Otago, New Zealand.
