“Wicked Tuna” has built up a following over the years. Captain Dave Marciano has been along for the ride. How did he get on there?
Marciano lays it all out in an interview with Hollywood Soapbox.
“They said, ‘Hey, we got an idea for a show,'” Marciano said. “‘We’ve been on several boats. We’ve been talking to other captains, and one thing we noticed is your name came up a lot on all of these other boats.'”
Well, Marciano didn’t need to wait for an invitation at that point. “Wicked Tuna” follows the exploits of him and other fishermen who go out looking for bluefin tuna. Marciano and his fellow tuna anglers make their living during the season.
‘Wicked Tuna’ Star Talked About Work Being Depicted On TV Show
But is what we see on our televisions an accurate depiction of their work? Marciano offered some thoughts on that, too, in an interview with Boston Magazine.
He said that shots showing actual fishing were solid, but he did offer a little piece of criticism.
“I think the actual fishing days you see are accurate,” Marciano said. “What’s really hard to get a sense of is that if you watch the show, it looks like we’re just out for the day. The viewer really doesn’t see that most of the time we’re out for multiple days at a time.”
The “Wicked Tuna” crews definitely spend more than just a day out on the waters.
“Sometimes it looks like we’re out for a six-hour cruise when in reality, we were out for four to five days,” Marciano said.
Just How Much Does A Bluefin Tuna Weigh When Being Caught?
Outsiders know that “Wicked Tuna” captains are going out in search of bluefin tuna. How much, though, does one of those fish actually weigh when caught?
Captain Dave Carraro answered that question in a 2013 interview with Boston Magazine.
“The average weight of a bluefin tuna, if I had to guess, would be about 500 pounds,” Carraro said. “But they can be as big as 1,200 pounds, and the smallest ones we can keep are around 200 pounds.”
The “Wicked Tuna” fishermen go out into the waters beyond Gloucester, Mass., for their work.
How much does a bluefin tuna bring in for these captains and crews?
“A 500-pound fish could be worth as little as $1,500 or as much as $20,000,” Carraro said. “It all depends on just basic economics, supply and demand, and another big factor is the quality of the fish.”
“Wicked Tuna” is a popular show on the National Geographic Channel. There was a spin-off called “Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks” focusing on tuna fishing off of the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
