The International Underwater Spearfishing Association

International Underwater Spearfishing Association

World Record

35.4 kg. , 78.0 lbs.

Tuna, Dogtooth Gymnosarda unicolor

Record Category: Women Speargun

Diver:		Erin McGinty
Date:		12/10/2019
Location:		VANUATU

We had just arrived on Kwakea Island and unpacked our gear when we decided to head out for an afternoon dive. After a few drifts and seeing a few small dogtooth tuna, I put a solid landing shot on an estimated 40kg dogtooth. As I swam to the surface I watched about 20 sharks annihilate the fish in seconds. From that point I realised if we had any hope of landing a tuna here, it would need to be a stone shot. After a few more drifts and some positive vibes from the dive buddies, I seen a decent dogtooth come into the flasher. As I dived down all I could think about was that I needed to get a stone shot. As I got closer to the fish in 25m, I stopped swimming and patiently freefell the last two meters until i could clearly see all the detail of the fish. I took a clean shot at the brain from above and as I seen the fish start to twitch rapidly I knew I had the kill shot. The next was the race to the surface before the sharks moved in. I grabbed the line immediately and started kicking hard to the surface. The 25m swim to the surface seem to take forever as the sharks started to dart into the tuna. Luckily I had experienced dive buddies that met me half way to help fend off the sharks to the surface. The excitement kicked in as the screams preceded the need to breath.