An Auckland teenager has landed a 52kg tuna while on a jetski in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf.
18-year-old Hector de Mornac says he went fishing with his grandfather on jetskis near Little Barrier Island and there was absolutely nothing for the first two-and-a-half hours.
Mornac says after they caught the tuna, they took a precarious 40-minute voyage back to land with the jetski tilting to one side from the weight of the fish.
The teenager’s fish scale only goes up to 23kg so he was forced to stand on a heavier scale, holding the fish and subtracting his weight.
He says he weighed himself and was at 82kg and he weighed himself and the tuna and he was 134kg.
Mornac says plans to keep the tail, dry it and save it as a souvenir and reckons it could be the biggest yellowfin tuna caught from a jetski in New Zealand.
Sport Fishing Council communications and operations manager Mike Plant says it was an incredible catch and adds a 52kg yellowfin tuna from a jetski is something worth celebrating as it is a fantastic achievement.
Plant says the organisation did not formally track the type of vessel used, but a catch like this from a jetski is certainly noteworthy.
He says the national all-tackle record for yellowfin tuna is 95kg (men, 37kg line) and 92.1kg (women, 37kg line).
The world record is an impressive 193.68kg.
Source: NZ Herald
