STORY OF A BIG FISH

Southland Times, Issue 22157, 27 October 1933, Page 8

STORY OF A BIG FISH

CATCHING A MONSTER TUNA. THRILLING FIGHT AT NIUE. What is described as “a true story of a fish” has been compiled by a resident of Niue Island and sent to a New Zealand Government official by the Resident Commissioner, Mr Bell. A native named Fakahoa went out deep-sea fishing recently with a handline at eight o’clock. A fish took his bait at 60 fathoms and came to the surface. After dragging the canoe for about half a mile the fish dived down and down. The fisherman, finding that he was getting near the end of his line, called one of his friends. Another length of line was quickly attached, but still the fish went down, until three other lengths were attached in turn. The total length of line at that stage was over 600 fathoms. The fish then stopped. No one had yet seen what was on the hook, but it was thought to be a striped marlin, which fish are caught in quite large numbers at this time of the year. The fisherman, who knew that it would take him some hours to get the fish to the surface, set to work to try to pull it up inch lay inch and foot by foot. He struggled with it and succeeded in getting it to within 40 fathoms of the surface. There it took renewed life and dived again, stopping this time at the 300 fathoms mark. This was at 2 p.m.

Fakahoa by this time had had enough and he handed his line to a friend to carry on. This the friend did, with frequent relays of other friends who had assembled. The fish was brought to the surface, but instead of the expected marlin, it was found that it was a monster tuna. The weight of the fish, after it had been carried up the steps leading to the jetty and about 200 yards along the road, was 5571 b. If it could have been weighed at the water’s edge it would have scaled considerably more as a large quanity of blood was lost in the journey. The measurements of the fish were Bft. from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail, while 6ft. was the greatest girth. The canoe used was of the ordinary single outrigger type, measuring 16ft. 6in. in length and 14in. in width.