Chapter 255 - 158: The Great Atoll
The gaffed tuna’s tail thrashed like a small motor, making the deckhand holding the gaff hook look as though he were having an epileptic fit.
Another deckhand came over with a tail rope. Once the tuna stopped struggling, he expertly slipped it over its tail, and they used the crane to hoist the yellowfin aboard.
This yellowfin tuna was built like a torpedo—stout and chunky. It was no surprise a 1.7-meter specimen could weigh nearly 330 pounds; it had to grow wide to pack on that much weight.
Even though it was about the same length as the giant trevally, when you put the two fish side-by-side, the tuna was clearly a size larger.
Wang Junhe and Guo Xiao stood off to the side, hands on their hips, staring at the two fish with the weary expressions of shell-shocked old men.
’Couldn’t they let us be happy for a little longer? With these two fish side by side, our catches were completely crushed, both in size and value!’
As was tradition, everyone came over to take pictures with the fish. Even Su Qing and Cheng Jing were drawn out from the lounge.
They had, of course, eaten tuna before, but since they weren’t interested in fishing, this was actually their first time on a deep-sea fishing trip.
Witnessing a tuna being caught firsthand was a novel experience for them.
After the group finished taking photos, a deckhand came over to bleed the fish. The fish wasn’t completely dead yet, which was the best time to do it.
The deckhand laid the fish down, then straddled it to hold it steady.
Another deckhand, holding a long, twenty-centimeter spike and a hammer, drove it straight into the fish’s head with a single blow.
Yi Chen, who was used to killing fish, had no reaction to the scene. Su Qing and Cheng Jing, however, were curious as to why this was done.
Wang Junhe explained to them, "Bleeding a live fish is a very cruel thing to do. So, whether the fish is big or small, we always make sure it’s brain-dead before we process it."
"Besides, once it’s brain-dead, it won’t thrash around, so it’s less likely to injure someone!"
𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦
With the science lesson over, the tuna was now completely still. A deckhand took a fish knife, lifted the gill plate, and reached inside to sever its spine. Blood immediately gushed out.
Even for a fish, one weighing nearly 330 pounds has a lot of blood. The deck was stained red in the blink of an eye.
The deckhand then went to the tail and made a deep cut, nearly severing it completely, leaving it attached only by a flap of skin.
He grabbed a hose and rinsed the fish for a while, stopping only when clear water, not blood, ran off its body. Then, it was moved into the refrigerated hold.
If they were going to eat it, the fish would have to be placed in a large ice bucket to age and let the lactic acid break down.
But Gu Nan planned to take this fish back to sell. At nearly 330 pounds, a fish this large could fetch around seventy yuan per jin at Yangjiang Port. A single fish worth 20,000 yuan was definitely not for eating.
If they wanted to eat fish, they could just catch some smaller ones. Besides, being out in the open sea, it was more fun to forage for seafood on the reefs or pump out a tide pool and catch fish that way.
The waterspout continued until sunset, and then it was over. The dark clouds dispersed; the Dragon King, having passed his trial, had likely succeeded.
After seeing this, Gu Nan finally understood why ancient times were so full of myths. There was no way for people of the past to explain this series of events with science. Didn’t that leave only theology?
After the waterspout, this patch of ocean once again became a playground for predators and a paradise for anglers.
Gu Nan and Yi Chen fished until ten o’clock before turning in, since they had to get up at six or seven in the morning for the tide pool.
Perhaps because he had gone to bed a bit early, he still woke up at five-thirty.
While they were resting, the fishing boat had moved to a spot opposite the Great Atoll’s tide pool. As Gu Nan stepped out of his room, he could hear the faint sound of engines coming from the direction of the atoll.
The sun rose early in the summer, and it was already twilight at five-thirty.
Guo Xiao had clearly done this before. Eight water pumps were lined up in a row, shooting the pumped water out of the tide pool. The scene was actually quite spectacular.
Since he was already up, Gu Nan decided he might as well head over early.
He went to the galley, ate some of the breakfast that had already been prepared, and changed into the waterproof boots Guo Xiao had laid out. Then he had a deckhand take him over to the Great Atoll ahead of the others, bringing along an assortment of foraging tools.
The eight pumps were fast, but it would still take some time. Gu Nan could go look around nearby; the tide had just gone out, so there should be some good finds.
The Great Atoll was an enormous underwater reef system. The part that broke the surface resembled a ring-shaped island, hence the name.
In reality, its overall shape was an irregular rectangle. It was rich in coral reef fish and a frequent haunt for professional anglers.
After the fishing season opened, a considerable number of fishing boats would stop here every day, ranging from just over ten meters to large fifty- or sixty-meter vessels.
Many commercial fishermen also came here to longline, so in recent years, there were almost no Meter Level coral fish left; most didn’t exceed five or six pounds.
Fortunately, the main visitors were recreational anglers. Anglers would rather get skunked than keep small fish, which is what saved the fish population of the Great Atoll from total devastation.
’This trip out to sea is turning out to be quite worthwhile,’ Gu Nan thought. ’At the very least, I’ve found two excellent fishing spots.’
’The oil rig for deep-sea fish, and here for coral fish. Perfect.’
Stepping onto the Great Atoll, Gu Nan looked around and noticed signs that a large number of oysters had been pried off the rocks. ’Looks like being too famous isn’t a good thing. This place must get picked over often.’
Gu Nan wandered around for a bit with his small bucket. Good grief, there was nothing. All he saw were some mussels and rapana whelks.
He figured this landing spot was no good, so he began to slowly make his way to the right.