A behemoth of a blue marlin drew dozens to the PW docks on Front Street in Bermuda last week when the visiting boat Seafari came in with a 1,289-pounder. Local captain and fisherman Alan Card, who was aboard the 70-foot Bertram as a local guide, said it was the largest blue marlin he has seen caught in his career. The 15-foot fish died during the 4-hour fight that had everyone on board assisting. The catch came on the southeast side of Argus Bank in the afternoon of May 30.
The Seafari, a visiting boat from the United States, was making its first visit to Bermuda. Owner Rich Davies, a native South African, makes his home in North Carolina. He said this is the biggest fish he had ever caught. The captain also said this was also the biggest fish he has ever caught, with the next largest a 1,100-pound fish caught in the Pacific Ocean off Hawaii. Davies said in tribute to the catch he will make a donation to an orphanage in Zululand in his native South Africa. The largest marlin reported from Bermuda waters is a fish of 1,352 pounds caught in 1995.