Rarotonga and Aitutaki fishermen are celebrating a bonanza of giant catches, including two 70-kilogram yellowfin tuna by young anglers and a massive 354.5kg blue marlin by a seasoned fisherman.

Two Aitutaki siblings managed to reel in two yellowfin tuna, each weighing a staggering 70 kilograms, outshining their father’s catch.

Tione and Ata Maoate were super excited to land two yellowfin tuna heavier than their dad Paul Maoate’s catch last week.

Fishing on their boat “Reel Action”, it took about an hour for Tione and Ata to reel in both fish.

Paul says fishing in Aitutaki has been exceptionally good for the past two months, with everyone going out catching good numbers of fish.

In Rarotonga, seasoned angler Tepaki Baxter successfully landed a monster 354.5kg blue marlin – his heaviest catch to date– last week.

Baxter hooked the prized catch at the Panama FAD (Fishing Aggregate Device) at about 6.30pm on May 1.

In a test of endurance and intense struggle, Baxter managed to conquer the giant fish after around an hour and a half battle, with the assistance of crew Jojo Andaya.

“We couldn’t pull it up, it was a struggle… it was dark when we managed to get it to the boat,” he said.

Marlins are renowned for their immense size, striking appearance, and incredible power.

Baxter was stoked to have caught his biggest and heaviest marlin while out on his small boat “Magken”.