Massachusetts Charter Boat Lands 1,260-Pound Blue Marlin, Narrowly Missing World Record

A three-hour battle with what initially appeared to be a shark culminated Wednesday in the landing of a 1,260-pound Atlantic blue marlin off Massachusetts, marking a remarkable catch on the East Coast. Captain Damon Stacco and his client Walter Chapman were fishing roughly 100 miles from Cape Cod when the massive fish struck, with Stacco documenting the encounter on social media as the drama unfolded. The marlin was weighed on an IGFA certified scale in Falmouth, establishing a new state record for Massachusetts.

Stacco recalled the moment of discovery, describing an unusually large dorsal fin approximately four feet high followed by a flash of blue beneath the surface. His initial reaction was skepticism about the fish’s identity, as he considered it too substantial to be a marlin in those waters. Chapman performed the bulk of the arduous reeling work aboard Stacco’s charter vessel, Castafari, while the captain managed navigation duties.

The catch fell 142 pounds short of the world record, an Atlantic blue marlin weighing 1,402 pounds that was caught off Brazil 34 years ago. Walt Golet, director of the University of Maine Pelagic Fisheries Lab, emphasized the significance of the catch given that Massachusetts waters remain too cold for most of the year to support such species. Golet estimated the fish was between 25 and 30 years old, with the head transported to his laboratory for further analysis.

Stacco noted the encounter left visible damage to the boat’s transom, which he humorously termed “war marks” from the battle. Chapman, a lifelong angler himself, stated he would distribute the 1,200-pound fish among approximately a dozen people rather than attempt to consume it individually.