A bluefin tuna caught off California in September 1999 was recaptured again off Japan in May 2003. David Brackmann of Huntington Beach, California, tagged the 38-inch, 35-pound fish at the “Dumper” off the California/Baja coast on 30-pound line with a live sardine. The small Mustad circle hook was left in the tuna’s jaw at release. The fish was recaptured by a Japanese High School Training Program Long Line Boat 1,344 days later. The fish had traveled 4,468 nautical miles, measured more than 66 inches and was estimated to weigh 212 pounds. Brackmann tagged the most Pacific bluefin tuna in 1999 in the AFTCO Tag and Flag Tournament, and he has had 17 tag returns since he began tagging in 1985.
