YOU meaning only if "you" have an old commercial shark permit which aren't available anymore.
Or you are in a tournament.
Otherwise you are not allowed to keep sharks if your giant/commercial fishing.
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i thought we could keep theshers and makos??? i could be wrong im not up to date on the sharks....

I think your wrong. You can't sell it without the old permit but you can cut it up and eat it.

Freak is right... If you are fishing under bft general, can't keep any sharks... Only a rec hms permit can keep sharks. And a boat can't have both permits, afaik. Only possible "loophole" is a charter permit, which lets you switch between the two... But if you kept a shark you would then be defined as a rec vessel, and unable to giant fish for the day.
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3 of the boats on that show charter.

As charter/headboat your category for the day is determined by the first fish you kill. So you can only have sharks AND giants on board the same day if you have the old school commercial shark permits from way back.
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I stand corrected. I misunderstood Dave.

my god some of these off shore rules are confusing!

Tuna.com does not make his living fishing for tuna..... he is a pilot for Jetblue

The only one that fishes for a living is Dave Marciarno the baldheaded guy and Noaa has put him out of business

The first episode was all taken from Stellwagon.... these guys do not anchor on Georege's Bank.... they drift fish 99% of the time..

nightfighter....no cinder block.... used a 5 gallon bucket at least once when helicopter was there filming.... cost money to keep helicopter in the air while waiting for tuna to bite.

For those of U that have comcast xfinity U could have watched wicked tuna since a week ago Tuesday instead of waiting to Sunday nite by clicking on.."On Demand,".. top picks and click till U see wicked tuna... U can re-watch it anytime

The show learned from Dave @tuna.com: I might have messed up my numbers a little...:rotf2:

Dave Marciarno seems like a cool captain and hard core new england tuna fisherman. Fun to watch pre season,time to get the gear ready :)

been there done that...I'm 1 for 5 on snatched cod jigs....... and if I wasn't power drifting with men on board( and a small boat harpoon on board as well).. I'd be 0-for... I can't count how many times I've had mackerel meant for bass on a offshore ledge ( a mile off the beach) snatched by giants...it's never pretty...

Jason... it's hard to understand how fast a BFT can empty a 4/0 penn.. until you see it in person...even when the engine is running and you imediatly slam it in to gear.. alot has to go your way...... I chased/fought one on a jig with a 4/0 penn for 4 hours.. alone... with severe cramps, and soiled britches before the reel ceased to funtion.... I didnt know weather to laugh or cry when the line parted...most times it's over before you realize what happened...

roc....ya know i know chances are slim but what you described shure sounds fun! lol. I bet your 1st reaction was "i have the bass of a life time" i'm sure that thought only lasts a few seconds..... Like i said, i saw several tuna last year in our area...but ya i'm in the hunt for some used tuna gear. I'd like to have a few setups for those rare occations when i see them.

I love the one fellow who caught what looked like a close fish, while fighting it he even mentioned something about the size being legal....first he harpooned it. Then gaffed it and brought it in the boat. Then said, it looks legal, then measured it. Did not say anything after measuring it. Hmmmmm.
He was giddy happy because he broke even for the trip. Some how I doubt this is all he does for a living.

What would he have done if it was 72" and not 73? Let it go?

Is it legal to cut the head off?

A lot of BS going on out there. This show confirms it.

Hundreds of fish were turned away by fish buyers who can not get caught with a <73" fish. How come these fishermen are not reported for poaching?


Even my wife said...I can see lights from land! There is no way they are offshore.

His wife said "We wont harpoon a fish thats even close to not being a keeper", that fish was way too close to judge when it was still in the water, with a harpoon hanging from it.

You can cut their heads off, just need to keep pec fin and tail on and once the buyer cuts the tail off there is no more measuring.
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If you cut their heads off, how can an enforcement officer (or buyer) accurately measure to see if it is >73" since the measurement is from lower jaw ?


tysdad115: your damn right about that. There was NO way he could tell, in fact I bet it was sub 73. I've done this enough to know you can not tell a 71 from 74 in the water. The fish have such varied geometry that it is impossible (some are meatballs some are long and lean). You need them on the deck with a tape and you need two people.

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/Com...Guide_Tuna.pdf
Bluefin tuna
No person shall retain, or possess a bluefin tuna with the head removed that is less than 20 inches (51 cm) pectoral fin curved length.
Bigeye and yellowfin tuna
No person may remove the head of a bigeye tuna or yellowfin tuna if the remaining portion would be less than 27 inches (69 cm) from the fork of the tail to the forward edge of the cut (see image below).
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Thank you freak. That is good info. I did not know about the curved peckfin legnth conversion factor.

IMO when you get your permit, they should email you an on-board packet with all this stuff inside along with the latest regs, id info etc... It is just too hard to dig it out of that site. But that is another problem for another day....


thanks!

if you stomp on them you can stretch em:)

Its relatively easy to measure a fish in the water before you throw at it. You just need some very simple equipment.

Heads are just a waste of ice, and room in the cooler.
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Mako Mike
 

Care to share what equipment?

I have been using a couple of those vinyl measuring tapes, like a tailor would use, with a clip on one end a a small float on the other for drag. Works ok, but would love to know if a better mouse trap existed.

seriously ....whats everyone doing on close fish for instance your a rec and you have a 70" +- fish on the line....you dont want to harpon it in case its over 73" same goes for a commercial guy seems tough to measure in the water..........

Take a snap swivel and tie 73" of heavy mono, clip it to the main line, the swivel will slide to the tip of the fish and mono will flow down the lenght of the fish and let you know to stick it or not.

great idea thanks fishsmith

great idea! thx....now i just need to dig out my walet and get some more tuna gear! lol

You need something at the end of the mono with a slight amount of weight so the mono will stretch.

I have a rig hanging in my boat thats a small carabiner crimped to 200lb mono and at the end has a small poly ball crimped on.
Length from carabiner to end of poly ball is 73.
Typically the hook will be in the corner of the mouth so you got a few inches to spare to the tip of the nose.
Obviously this only works for a leader, not a spreader bar :rollem:
Lots of guys mark the side of their boat.

side of boat is a good idea too...!