A fisherman in the Rhode Island area recently wound up with a tuna that he had thrown back. That wouldn't have been that remarkable, except that this particular fish had been caught and tagged by the same man way back in 1997, and this reunion was not an expected one.
According to the Providence Journal, Captain Al Anderson runs a charter boat business in the Galilee area of this state, but he also has an interest in the fish he catches that goes beyond how good they'll taste. After catching and registering this tuna 16 years ago, Anderson happened upon the same fish again recently, thanks to the efforts of a different fisherman in Nova Scotia.
The last time Anderson encountered this fish, it weighed a mere 14 pounds, but it has since multiplied tremendously in size, reaching more than 1,000 pounds. Faced with this discovery, Anderson was overjoyed that his method of releasing his catches was having such a widespread effect. The fish is just one of many that National Marine Fisheries Service is making an effort in tracking.
"People who fish with me and have caught all of these fish, they favor my conservation ethic and work to help the future of the resource," he said, acknowledging that his approach is unusual among his fellow fishermen.
Applying fishing boat insurance to such specific cases might have the result of giving boaters more confidence in the way that they go about their business. Each fisherman might have their own priorities that make them more or less likely to wind up in dangerous situations.