236-Pound Tuna Wins $767K For Fishermen

OCEAN CITY, MD — As the final hours of the White Marlin Open ticked down on Friday night, Damien Romeo's friends asked him how his heart was holding up.

"Go to CVS, get some baby aspirin. You are gonna give yourself a heart attack," one friend said, and others shared similar sentiments. But this wasn't just idle chatter; the stress of waiting to see if the 236.5-pound bigeye tuna that Romeo and friends Rich Kostzyu and Brian Suschke had weighed in for Romeo's boat, Hubris, would capture a $767,091 payday was real.

So were the concerns about Romeo's heart. The Lacey Township resident was less than a month removed from a heart attack that nearly claimed his life.

"I died twice that day," Romeo said of the heart attack he suffered July 12. "They had to bring me back in the ER."

On Friday, however, when the scales finally closed at the 43rd annual White Marlin Open, Romeo, who owns a construction company; Kostzyu, a Trenton firefighter from Hamilton; and Suschke, a police sergeant who lives in Chesterfield, could celebrate their good fortune, which came after a week of boat issues at the tournament. It is the largest payout in the tournament's history for a tuna. If you're doing the math, their tuna was worth $3,243.51 per pound (the most valuable sushi ever!).

That wasn't the only big payout at the 43rd annual White Marlin Open, however. The Kallianassa, a boat from Naples, Florida, won $2.8 million for catching a 76.5-pound white marlin, the only one of that species that met the tournament's qualifying standards. It is the first $2 million fish in the tournament's history. The fish that are weighed in for the tournament — 23 white marlin total were weighed in last week, in addition to others — are filleted, and most of the meat is donated to a local food bank in Maryland.

Romeo, Kostzyu and Suschke, longtime friends and fishing buddies, have competed in a number of tournaments before, including the White Marlin Open, which annually attracts more than 300 boats and anglers from around the country to try to catch billfish and tuna with the hope of winning a share of the prize money.

But the trio weren't even sure they would be fishing in the tournament this year. Romeo's heart attack had left their participation in doubt. But a week before the event, Romeo's cardiologist gave him the go-ahead, with one restriction: he could only drive the boat. Fighting large fish on a rod and reel is a workout, one that he had to leave to his friends.

"We scrambled and came down to fish with a three-man crew," Suschke said.

As if that wasn't enough adversity, the trio faced significant boat problems from day one, losing steering after striking something hidden under the water while heading out on what was to be their first day of fishing, which forced Romeo to tie up at a commercial fishing dock for the day while they made repairs. They were able to fish Tuesday and Wednesday, but with some limitations, he said. But it was enough for them to get out to where Kostzyu could hook into the 236.5-pound tuna.

On the way back, about 4 miles from shore, the boat lost its steering again.

"Thanks to Rob at Towboat US, we get to Martin's Fish Company dock again," he said. And with the help of a fellow boat captain and a lift, they loaded the tuna that Kostzyu caught into a pickup truck and drove it to the scales to be weighed.

The trio spent Thursday repairing the boat again and were able to fish Friday (teams fish three days of the five-day tournament) to pass the time while waiting to see if they were going to walk away with the massive payday or if another fish would be weighed in that would either knock them out of their top spot or siphon off some of their winnings. Prize money in the tournament is a combination of base prizes and additional pools of money that up the ante, based on how much a boat owner or team is willing to spend. The tournament entry fees and those additional pools, called calcuttas, add up to a $10,000 investment for the teams that go all in.

And that's before you factor in the costs of bait, fuel and — in this case — boat repairs.

It's not unusual for boat captains and crews to help each other out, even in a tournament situation. There is an inherent danger in traveling so far offshore, and in an emergency, often the speediest help comes from another boat fishing nearby, and those who fish know at any time, they could be the ones needing help.

"With fear of sounding stupid, I wanna put something out there," Romeo said late Sunday night. "We had a really tough week, yes it paid off, chips fell our way, but we dealt with adversity and frustration like I can't tell you."

"But I am absolutely HUMBLED by the outreach from the fishing community and my FB friends offering to drop everything and help us out, guys offering metal shops, guys offering boats, their labor, anything," Romeo said. "The locals in OCMD (Ocean City, Maryland) were so incredible to us as well, really helping us out. I am absolutely humbled and thankful to have people around me that would drop everything to help us, I couldn't possibly thank everyone (because) I got hundreds of messages and calls."

"And through all that craziness Brian Suschke and Rich Kosztyu kept up positive energy and we put the time in," he said.

"So thankful for all the help from everyone with our issues this week," he said. "Thankful for all the work Brian and Rich put in all week sweating their --- off in the cockpit working hard! Thankful I have such an awesome team running my companies for me, so we can do this crazy stuff. And thankful I have a great woman and kids that let me chase these adventures!"

"And last but not least, thankful that cardiologist bought me back to life twice last month in the ER!" Romeo said.

Rich Kostzyu, Damien Romeo and Brian Suschke pose with their 236.5-pound bigeye tuna after it was weighed in at the White Marlin Open in Ocean City, Maryland. Photo via White Marlin Open website.