Jose Bisteni was our speaker at our meeting on May 7. He told us about his company that fishes for Tuna in the Gulf of Mexico. His nine fishing vessels use longlines up to five miles in length to catch fish (90% are tuna and the rest made up of sharks, sword fish and others). Squid from the North Sea is used for bait. The crews of 7-8 stay out up to 20 days, working 8-14 hour days and travel up to 500 miles catching 7-10,000 lbs. of fish. They leave on their trips with 30 tons of ice on board, this keeps the fish fresh, not frozen, until they unload at the dock. Upon arrival the mostly 60 lb. yellowfin tuna are quickly weighed and tested for quality then put on a refrigerated van for the USA and most will be sold as fresh fish within 36 hours. Jose began this business in 2000 after 10 years in banking. He said the fish production is slowly getting less and it is his belief that is due to air and water pollution.
Jose was introduced by club member Daniel Estrella.
