Captain John MacKay, fisherman from Beach Point, was recognized today for landing the largest Bluefin tuna of the 2006 season.
Mr. MacKay was presented with the Premier's Cup today in Montague. The award was instituted by Premier Binns in recognition of the role tuna fishing plays in the Island economy and the international recognition it brings to Prince Edward Island. “I am pleased to present Captain MacKay with this trophy in recognition of his achievement and his commitment to the tuna fishing industry.” John’s fish was the largest landed since 2000.
The bluefin, landed at Machon's Point on October 13th by Captain MacKay, weighed 1,274 pounds or 578 kilograms. John fought the tuna for 6 ½ hours aboard the vessel Billie & Julie, east of his home port on grounds called the Ridge. He had assistance from Matt Pollard, his first mate, in landing the fish.
Minister Bagnall said, “In 2006, a total of 802 tuna were landed by PEI tuna fishers, with 660 landed at PEI ports. Recent higher annual landings reflect the rebound of a fishery which attracts participants from around the world. The PEI bluefin tuna fishery has a landed value of $ 3 million with additional revenue from the sport fishery.”
Captain MacKay has been fishing bluefin since 1988 and is also a long-time member of the PEI tuna advisory group which advocates on behalf of the 360 tuna fishers of PEI at Atlantic Canada’s tuna meetings.