Reborn in the Millennium: Building a Fortune from Fishing

Chapter 531 A Bluefin Tuna Worth Millions

"Uncle Chen."

"Dahe, you're here so early."

After exchanging greetings, Kurokawa also stepped forward to begin their conversation.

However, Guangwei is currently cooperating with Kamishiya in Japan, making it difficult for Fuji to get involved.

This is also why Guangwei can dominate the domestic market. Fishing rods, hooks, nylon lines, etc. are all jointly developed, giving them a significant technological advantage.

The Dragon King's Hatred, the Old Ghost, and other creatures below are hard to match in terms of anything except bait.

Reporter Xin also joined in at the opportune moment and began to conduct interviews.

Unexpectedly, Uncle Chen praised Dahe Fishing Gear highly, believing that it would become one of the leading figures in the domestic fishing gear industry in the future.

"As you all know, Xiao Qin is a seasoned angler." The old man chuckled and pulled Qin Dahe to stand beside him, and the photographer immediately recorded the scene of the two of them on the same stage.

"Moreover, he likes innovation and has created many new things, bringing a different kind of development to the fishing gear industry."

Reporter Xin nodded, "That's right. Currently, almost all the leading anglers are using Dahe Fishing Tackle's Bait No. 2."

Qin Dahe stood shyly beside him, like a greenhorn.

"We younger generations should learn more from seniors like Uncle Chen."

"Mr. Chen, who do you think has a better chance of winning this time?"

"Oh, you'll see when you go and see for yourself. Whoever is the darkest is the most likely to win."

The old man's words made everyone burst into laughter.

There are no fair-skinned fishermen, not even Qin Dahe. All the fishermen on the field are uniformly "charcoal-black".

After the host exchanged a few words with the anglers, he started taking people to film them.

An hour later, the crowd almost simultaneously fell silent, and the scene became very quiet.

"Mr. Qin, you are a relatively professional angler, why did all the anglers not get any bites at the same time?" Reporter Xin came over again.

Seeing the camera, he became a little more serious.

"High temperatures naturally lead to lower dissolved oxygen levels, and it's also very humid today."

"Does being bored have anything to do with fishing?"

"Hehe, I guess it's because it's going to rain. Didn't you notice the sun isn't as strong now?" he said seriously. "It's hardest to fish before it rains."

"Low air pressure will reduce the oxygen content in the water, causing fish to lack oxygen and have a low appetite, so they will not eat the bait."

The root cause is that Taihu Lake is too shallow, making it easily affected by various weather factors.

"So what do you think we should do next?"

"Adjust your mindset and reduce the amount of flavor you add; there's still a chance to catch fish."

If it were raining, that would be fine, as not a single drop would fall. But when the sky is overcast, that's when things get really tricky.

The situation on site was that Da Liu and a certain silver carp and bighead carp man were tied for first place, with almost identical weights.

The second place was only six pounds apart, which could be settled with a slightly larger silver carp or bighead carp, so no one dared to slack off.

A short while later, the bass fishing area started catching fish.

Their bait is mostly shrimp paste and shrimp balls. Taihu Lake is covered with aquatic plants, and there are quite a few fish that eat shrimp.

Not only bass, but also bream, crucian carp, and even grass carp and black carp can be caught.

No freshwater fish are purely herbivorous; even minnows eat mosquito larvae.

Qin Dahe leisurely smoked a cigarette, occasionally chatting with the guests next to him.

There was also a fishing club from Shenzhen here, and he made a point of getting to know them and asking them some fishing tips.

It turns out that the "Guangwei Cup" included sea fishing, and it was held in Shenzhen, but unfortunately it was discontinued due to safety concerns.

The fishing club was invited to participate. They started from the semi-finals, and now only one player remains in the finals.

"Boss Qin, your bait is really good. I caught more than 200 pounds in one night in Shenzhen. It's even more exciting than sea fishing."

"Haha, thank you for your kind words, Manager Lin. I'm glad everyone caught some fish." Qin Dahe chuckled as he offered a cigarette.

He seemed quite famous; almost all the guests present recognized him. "I'm going to Shenzhen in September, and we'll go fishing together a couple of times."

"Oh? You're here to visit Shenzhen?" Manager Lin seemed quite pleased to hear that. "We have plenty of silver carp and bighead carp in Guangzhou, I'll treat you to a meal."

He was not only the team leader but also one of the contestants, though he was eliminated in the semi-finals.

As fellow anglers, I've naturally followed Qin Dahe, and it's always been fun to fish together.

"Yeah, I'm going to Shenzhen for more than a month, and I might even go on a sea trip."

"Hehe, our club has boats, do you need help getting a pass?"

"No need, I'm affiliated with QQ Company, it's already taken care of." Taking a deep drag of his cigarette, he began to inquire about the pricing for overseas operations.

"The fare for the seagoing vessel from the Li family is 12,000. I wonder if this price is reasonable?" Since I'm thinking of doing more sea fishing, I definitely need to find out about the price.

The club that Uncle Qing recommended is definitely reliable, but it's expensive.

Not only was there a boat fee of 12,000, but also 30% of the value of the catch and the right to handle the catch. He found it all outrageous.

"The Li's Sea Fishing Club in Zhuhai?"

"Mm." Qin Dahe nodded.

“His property is worth the price.” Manager Lin sighed. “Our club has its own boats, and we often go out to sea with his boats.”

"Why is that?" If you have your own boat, why would you go and join someone else's boat? Do you have too much money and nowhere to spend it?
“The Li family is different. They have many fishing boats and cargo ships in the open sea. When they take people fishing, they will at least find a designated spot.” He gave a detailed introduction to the Li family’s fishing boats.

It turns out that it was a subsidiary business of a large group, and they were just doing it for fun, not expecting to make money, and only catering to customers introduced by acquaintances.

As a major player in the South China Sea fishing industry, it is involved in all fish-related sectors, including fresh fish collection, docks, and fish auctions.

They can freely enter and exit locations rich in fish, such as drilling platforms, and with their own fleet using underwater detectors to mark the spots, even if they lose money, they won't lose much.

Moreover, the fishing was incredibly enjoyable. Going out to sea with the Li family's boat, everyone managed to catch a big fish – it was no joke.

"Especially their fishing boats, which are extremely well-equipped, with each boat costing over five million. Our club can't compare."

"I see." Hearing this, Qin Dahe felt relieved; Uncle Qing was indeed reliable.

"Especially when it comes to selling fish, although he charges a 30% fee for helping you sell, the prices are all good, and large quantities can even be sent to fish auctions."

"Tell me about the Fish Shooting Association." Qin Dahe had heard his uncle and Uncle Qing mention the Fish Shooting Association a few times and was very curious about it.

"It's a place where high-value fish are sent to auctions. High-value seafood can generally be sold at a premium. Many fish bosses organize these auctions themselves, and the Li family is one of the organizers."

“In April of this year, a friend of mine caught a 280-pound bluefin tuna, which was auctioned for 220 yuan per pound.”

A fish weighing 280 pounds is a rare weight for freshwater fish, except for sturgeon and beluga sturgeon.

However, he was a little disappointed that the price was only over 50,000 yuan. He had caught a large yellow croaker in Shanghai and sold it for 55,000 yuan.

“Mr. Qin, two years ago, our Toyosu Market auctioned off a 550-pound tuna for over 200 million yen.” Kurokawa overheard their discussion and joined in.

"More than two hundred million?"

"Yes, according to the exchange rate, it's about ten million RMB."

"."

Two years ago, in 1999, a single fish cost ten million—that was insane!

Even though Manager Lin already knew, he still looked envious. Japan is a major consumer of tuna, and its seafood is very expensive, even more so than Hong Kong.

Seafood prices in coastal areas fluctuate greatly, sometimes by as much as half.

“I happened to be there when the auction was held. It was caught in a large seine net and was very fresh,” he said with a smile. “Tuna caught by fishing aren’t worth that much.”

"I see, thank you for your explanation, Mr. Kurokawa." He also knew that the tuna he caught had a sour taste; Wenwen had mentioned it when they went sea fishing in Shanghai.

"Does Mr. Qin enjoy sea fishing?"

"Haha, I tried it once, it was really exciting, I'll definitely go out to sea more often in the future."

While the group was chatting, the fish were finally served.

After more than forty minutes, apart from a few people occasionally catching some small fish, a proper fish finally appeared.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief; at least there were fish biting. The competition had only a little over an hour left.

(End of this chapter)