Saving Seafood

MASSACHUSETTS: ‘Wicked Tuna’ captain sets sights on selling you tuna

August 8, 2022 — Fans of “Wicked Tuna” often ask Capt. Dave Marciano of Beverly how they might get a taste of the giant bluefin tunas he and his fellow boat captains reel out of the Gulf of Maine on the popular National Geographic reality TV show.

“People have said this to me a hundred times, ‘Where can we get some of the fish that we see you catch on the show?’ I bet I have been asked that a thousand times. and I can’t send them anywhere to get a piece of the fish,” besides a few local restaurants, he said, or maybe a sushi buyer looking for tuna with a high fat for the Asian market.

“We’ve put this name in the households,” Marciano said. “We’ve put the idea of this product in people’s heads. Right now we just can’t send it to them. Well, that’s about to change.”

Starting Sept. 1, Marciano, whose Angelica Fisheries offers fishing charters aboard the fishing vessels Hard Merchandise and Falcon from Gloucester, is casting out his reality show fame to hook customers as he starts a new business called Angelica Seafoods.

The business plans to offer premium fresh seafood products from Gloucester and New England.

Read the full article at Gloucester Times

MASSACHUSETTS: ‘Wicked Tuna’ captain, charter owner to treat warriors to a day fishing

June 28, 2018 — On Wednesday, as the U.S. celebrates the 242nd birthday of its Declaration of Independence, fisherman Capt. Dave Marciano of “Wicked Tuna” and Tom Orrell of Gloucester-based Yankee Fleet, are going for the hat trick.

For the third consecutive Independence Day, the two men who first met when a much younger Marciano worked for Yankee Fleet, are teaming up to provide a boat full of veterans — some of them still carrying the wounds of their service — with a free day of fishing on one of Gloucester’s iconic charter boats, the aptly named Yankee Freedom.

“We’re going again,” Orrell said Wednesday. “Same as last year.”

The fishing trip for veterans and their guests has become one of the city’s staples among July Fourth celebrations.

The lineup is a familiar one. There are parades, bonfires and fireworks. There are barbecues, ball games and trips to the beach.

And now there is the Yankee Freedom, which accommodates about 70 anglers, heading out from the Head of the Harbor on the morning of the Fourth for the recreational fishing grounds of the Atlantic.

The event has become almost as wildly popular as the “Wicked Tuna” fishing reality show that has made Marciano a celebrity, if not a star.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Wicked on and off the water: What makes a tuna captain’s motor run?

June 15, 2018 — What advice do you have for fans and readers about starting out in the commercial fishing industry?

Dave Marciano: “My first instinct is – don’t do it. The fishing industry has changed. These days, fishing is a part-time vocation, whether you like it or not. Dave Carraro is a good example – he has a career as a pilot, and he built his commercial fishing career around that. And today, that’s the reality. You can’t make a reliable vocation full-time on commercial fishing.”

T.J. Ott: “Be prepared to fail before you even start, and you can only go up from there. Be confident, but prepare for the worst. The rod isn’t bending every day, there is a lot of downtime. It’s an expensive way to make a living, and it’s hard if you have a family, so be prepared for that roller coaster ride. If you are really passionate about it and committed, then it’s an amazing way to make a living, but just be prepared for the ride. Do not think you can come out here and make $20 a pound on every fish. Fish for fun and enjoy it – you can’t lose if you do that.”

Paul Hebert: “This is the biggest thing I can tell people – don’t do this for a living. Don’t think you’re going to go out there and make tons of money doing it. We’ve been doing this for years. The only reason we do it is because we were born into it, and it’s all we know. Take a charter, go fishing for fun.”

Dave Carraro: “Bottom line: Commercial fishing is a difficult way to earn a living.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Portland-based fishing boat captain and daughter to be featured on ‘Wicked Tuna’

January 25, 2016—Pete Speeches sees himself as a competitive guy, competing against the unpredictability of nature every time he sets foot on his boat.

So when Speeches and his daughter Erin signed up to be featured on the new season of the popular tuna-fishing reality show “Wicked Tuna,” he wasn’t looking to just get his face on TV or for a career in acting.

He was looking to win.

“I’m not in the habit of not catching fish, I like to be the guy who catches fish,” said Speeches, 54, who fishes out of Portland on a boat named for his daughters, the Erin & Sarah. “I fish hard, in all kinds of weather. I feel like I’m competing against nature every day.”

Speeches and his crew will make their TV debut Feb. 1 at 9 p.m. when the fifth season of “Wicked Tuna” begins on the National Geographic Channel. Eight tuna boat crews will be seen during one complete fishing season (filmed last summer and fall), fishing for bluefin tuna with hand-held rods. Their catches are tallied and ranked, but there is no monetary prize. The winner gets bragging rights only.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

‘Wicked Tuna’ star agrees to plea deal

January 12, 2016 — “Wicked Tuna” cast member Paul Hebert, facing federal charges in Vermont that he illegally collected more than $44,000 in Social Security, disability and Medicaid payments for two years, is looking to make a deal that could keep him out of jail.

The Gloucester fisherman and one of the long-running cast members on the popular fishing reality show on the National Geographic Network, has agreed to a plea deal that recommends probation in return for Hebert pleading guilty to two of the original counts and paying $53,561 in restitution, according to the plea agreement on file in U.S. District Court in Burlington, Vermont.

The other two counts originally contained in the indictment, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Ophardt said Monday, will be dismissed if the agreement is accepted by the court and Hebert meets all conditions.

Hebert originally pleaded not guilty to all counts at his arraignment. 

“Paul Hebert agrees to plead guilty because he is, in fact, guilty of the above crimes,” said the plea agreement, filed Jan. 7 in U.S. District Court in Burlington.

The proposed plea agreement between Hebert and the U.S. Attorney’s office will be presented to the trial judge in Burlington on Jan. 20 and, if accepted, will result in sentencing in about 90 days, Ophardt said.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

‘Wicked Tuna’ fisherman pleads not guilty to fraud

August 10, 2015 — A Gloucester fisherman featured on the reality show “Wicked Tuna” pleaded not guilty Monday in Vermont to federal fraud charges that he collected government benefits while claiming to be disabled.

The indictment handed down last month says Paul Hebert, 50, of Gloucester, and Barre, Vt., accepted more than $44,000 in Social Security and Medicaid benefits between 2010 and 2013.

Prosecutors say while Hebert was seen manning big fishing rods and harpooning huge fish on the National Geographic Channel reality show, he was at the same time claiming he was unable to work, with no income, no vehicle and no assets. They say during that period he was actually living with a woman and his child, owned a vehicle, and, at one point, a home.

Hebert appeared in court Monday in Burlington, Vt., where he entered the plea.

If convicted Hebert faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on each of four counts in the indictment.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

 

 

Feds: ‘Wicked Tuna’ TV fisherman claimed to be disabled

July 27, 2015 — MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) – A Massachusetts man seen manning big fishing rods and harpooning huge fish on the reality show “Wicked Tuna” collected government benefits while claiming to be disabled and unable to work, federal prosecutors said.

Paul Hebert, 50, of Gloucester, Massachusetts, accepted more than $44,000 in Social Security and Medicaid benefits between 2010 and 2013, according to a four-count indictment filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Burlington.

Hebert first filed for Social Security disability in the spring of 2009, claiming on his application that he was unable to work at any job, could not walk properly, could not lift heavy weights or drive for more than short distances, according to the indictment. Hebert also said he lived alone that he had no financial resources, no vehicle and no income. He began receiving benefits in October 2010, authorities said.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at New Jersey Herald 

 

 

‘Wicked Tuna’ star steps up for charter fleet

July 17, 2015 — Say what you want for the potential for over-exposure after four years chasing large fish on the small screen, but the “Wicked Tuna” brand still holds a certain cache.

Just ask Tom Orrell of Gloucester-based Yankee Fleet.

On Wednesday, for the second consecutive year, Orrell ran a special Yankee Fleet charter fishing trip featuring “Wicked Tuna” mainstay and Beverly native Dave Marciano. And for the second year in a row, it was a raging success.

“It really went wonderfully,” Orrell said Thursday. “Everybody caught a lot of fish and everybody came home ecstatic. We’ve already booked it for next year.”

Orrell said he had about 50 fishermen aboard the 100-foot long Yankee Freedom and they spent much of the day catching haddock and redfish. They even got up close and personal with a porbeagle shark.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times