What Happened to Tuna Com on Wicked Tuna
Beverly natives Bob Cook and Dave Marciano are back on board their vessels and ready to reel in some top-dollar tuna. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on the fishing industry, and that will be a big part of the storyline during season 10 of "Wicked Tuna."
"There's nobody in the whole entire world that hasn't been touched financially and otherwise by this pandemic," Cook said. "So, this season, the main goal is what it always has been. And that's to make money and that's to provide for our families."
As the intro to the first episode of the season succinctly states, "when the going gets tough, the tough get to work."
And that's exactly what the crews featured on this season of "Wicked Tuna" are doing. While they continue to compete against one another, everyone in the fleet realizes they must also work together to beat the odds brought upon them by the COVID-19 pandemic in order to keep a long-standing Gloucester bluefin tradition alive.
"All of these guys have crew members, they have families, they all have to be taken care of here," Cook explained. "I still want to beat 'em all, but I want to see them all be successful. Failure is not an option."
After two seasons captaining the Falcon, Marciano is back at the helm of the much improved Hard Merchandise.
"Over the winter, Joe and I and Jay made a lot of upgrades," he said. "She's back, she's badder than ever, she's faster than she's ever been before."
Those upgrades include going from a 200- to 500-horsepower engine, putting in a new deck, a new cabin and new fuel tanks.
"I love the Falcon, that's a great boat," Marciano said. "But it's no secret that the past few seasons haven't been spectacular. I'm not getting rid of her, but I wanted to make the Hard Merchandise a faster, more comfortable tuna boat."
His crew caught their first tuna on the first day of the season. The 79.5 inch, 200 pound bluefin garnered $10 per pound at market, making for a $2,000 payday.
"The last few seasons were tough for us on the Falcon," Marciano said. "I think the other guys think I kinda lost my mojo and I don't have what it takes anymore. With that being said, I think taking the Hard Merch is going to break that bad luck streak and get us back in the game."
Cook, aboard the Fat Tuna, ended up gut-hooking a bluefin on the second day of the season. Although the crew was "babying" it, the fish, which put up quite a fight, ended up snapping the line and getting away.
More:Beverly's Bob Cook joins "Wicked Tuna"
Although prices are much lower than previous seasons due to the pandemic and less demand for tuna, the captains know their livelihoods are on the line.
"We're all in this together and we have to make this work," TJ Ott, captain of the Hot Tuna said. "At the end of the day, one of us is going to be the top boat, and I want it to be us. But I also want to keep fishing and making money. It's all for one, one for all. You gotta do what you gotta do to stay in business."
Other notable catches from Season 10, Episode 1:
- Hot Tuna (Captain TJ Ott): 81 inches, 212 pounds, $1,060 ($5 per pound)
- Pinwheel (Captain Tyler McLaughlin): 97 inches, 390 pounds, $2,340 ($6 per pound)
- Moonshine (Captain Spurge Krasowski): 94 inches, 304 pounds, $2,128 ($7 per pound)
- Wicked Pissah (Captain Paul Hebert): 81 inches, 223 pounds, $1,784 ($8 per pound)
- Tuna.com (Captain Dave Carraro): 80 inches, 208 pounds, $2,080 ($10 per pound)
- Newcomer Captain Jack Patrican, aboard the Time Flies, also had a fish on the line, but it was too short to keep
What Happened to Tuna Com on Wicked Tuna
Source: https://www.wickedlocal.com/story/herald-citizen/2021/02/22/beverly-fishermen-return-season-10-wicked-tuna/4543268001/