The Hawaii County Fire Department and the US Coast Guard are searching for a Hawaiian fisherman who went overboard after hooking a massive tuna on Sunday, January 15.
Sixty-three-year-old Mark Knittle went fishing with a friend early Sunday morning about four miles off the Hawaiian coast when he hooked a large fish. Knittle’s final words to his friend before disappearing into the water, after his catch hauled him off the side of his boat, was “the fish is huge.”
When the other fisherman saw Knittle plunge into the ocean, he tried to grab the fishing line but missed. Knittle’s friend told the police that he had seen Knittle come up to the surface after going overboard, but only briefly.
Knittle disappeared into the water almost immediately after the last time his friend saw him. The companion tried to jump into the water to save him, but he couldn’t find him in the water.
Rescue personnel from the police department and the coast guard launched a search and rescue operation for Knittle on Sunday. Authorities identified the massive fish, which may have dragged him overboard, as a yellowfin tuna.
Authorities believe the yellowfin tuna might have dragged him far away from the area he went overboard.
The Assistant Chief of Operations for the Hawaii County Fire Department, Darwin Okinaka, said that incidents like this, where fishermen go overboard, are usually along the coastline. He said this situation was different because of how far out the incident took place.
When speculating about where the fisherman might be, Okinaka said that if the yellowfin was pulling him around, there was no way of telling where he could go.
Police described Knittle as a 185-pound man with a height of 5’10. He has a white beard, mustache, and curly brown hair and was wearing a dark-colored shirt and shorts when he plunged into the water.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s website states that yellowfin tuna are mostly found in tropical and subtropical oceans and can grow up to six feet and 400 pounds. They have a short lifespan, with most living between six and seven years.