A 216kg black skipjack tuna was brought into port yesterday, earning the title of this season’s “first Suao tuna” — a longstanding tradition that marks the start of Taiwan’s tuna fishing season.
The honor is awarded to the first vessel to return to port with a live longline-caught tuna weighing at least 180kg, the Suao Township (蘇澳) Fishermen’s Association in Yilan County said.
This year’s title went to the Suao-registered No. 168 Chuan Chang Lung, which docked at Nanfangao Fishing Port (南方澳漁港) with its 216kg catch.
Photo: Chiang Chih-hsiung, Taipei Times
Captain Lin Yi-chun (林宜俊), 49, said he set out on Wednesday last week and landed the tuna at about 7:30am on Sunday in the overlapping exclusive economic zones (EEZs) claimed by Taiwan and Japan.
Unlike in 2020, when he unexpectedly landed the season’s first tuna using live milkfish as bait, this year Lin set out specifically targeting tuna, using squid and mackerel to lure the catch.
While the association has yet to announce the auction date for Lin’s catch, last year’s first Suao tuna sold for NT$13,100 (US$396.31) per kilogram.
Aside from any profit, a portion of the sale would go toward covering salaries and health and labor insurance for Lin’s five Indonesian crew members, which amount to more than NT$300,000 per month, he said.
Also yesterday, the fishermen’s association in Pingtung County’s Donggang Township (東港) announced that the season’s first tuna has landed in the county, marking the official start of the local fishing season there as well.
The black skipjack tuna, which has yet to be officially weighed, but “appears to be about 210kg,” would be auctioned on Friday, it said.
Chen Jui-hao (陳睿豪), the ship’s captain, said he caught the fish on Saturday — his 32nd birthday — calling the giant catch “the perfect gift.”
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