Five hours off the west coast of Nova Scotia, a 13-year-old girl broke a world tuna-fishing record during the 22nd annual Wedgeport Tuna Tournament and Festival.
Délynn Jacquard was aboard the Pelagic Predator when she reeled in the 711-pound (323-kilogram) catch Wednesday. If ratified, it will mark a new International Game Fish Association female junior world record.
The former record of 618 pounds was set 12 years ago by Nova Scotian Jenna Gavin in Ballantynes Cove, meaning Jacquard beat the record by nearly 100 pounds.
“I was thinking to myself, ‘I don’t think … I might not be able to do this,'” Jacquard said in an interview Saturday. “But then I did it and I was just proud of myself.”
Jacquard says it took just over an hour to reel the tuna in.
“It’s a lot of work,” she said. “You’re hooked on to the rod and to the chair. Once you see the tip of the rod start coming closer to you, that’s when you start twisting the line and pulling it in.”
Jacquard’s father, Camille Jacquard, captains the Pelagic Predator. He has participated in the tournament for roughly 20 years. But this year was Délynn’s first outing as a relative newcomer to the world of big-game fishing.
Délynn said she’s not sure if she’ll be back for next year’s tournament.
Brandon Doucette, a board member for the tournament, said it could take up to six months for the record to be official, though he is confident it will be confirmed.
Doucette said that IGFA records are based on the weight of a fish before it is gutted, whereas the Wedgeport tournament counts the weight after partial gutting. Jacquard’s tuna weighed 711 pounds fresh out of the water and 635 pounds after being partially gutted.
Doucette said that “2026 is going to be known as the year of records,” as another vessel reeled in the heaviest tuna in tournament history. Capt. Brent Pothier caught an 801-pound bluefin aboard the Lucas & Noah, a vessel named for his two sons, who were also on board for the catch.
It is the first fish to clear the 800-pound mark in the tournament’s 22-year history, breaking the previous record of 796 pounds set in 2014 — the same year Gavin made her record-setting catch.
“When they started yelling the weight out, the excitement was unbelievable,” Doucette said. “We were just so excited to have not just one world record, but also a Wedgeport Tuna Tournament record.”
Doucette said the annual tournament is as much about community history as it is about records. Between the 1930s and 1960s, Wedgeport hosted anglers from around the world for its International Tuna Cup Match, earning a reputation as the sport tuna fishing capital of the world.
“We’re able to come out, celebrate our culture, and it’s really such an incredible event for our community,” Doucette said.
As for the thousands of pounds of tuna landed during the event, Doucette said that all catches fall within the region’s commercial quota.
“It’s going to end up either in a restaurant or on somebody’s plate in their house,” he said.
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