Another successful year is in the books thanks largely to our generous sponsors, dedicated volunteers and tournament participants. Loyalty is important to us and we’re especially grateful for all of the above who have been with us for 7 years now.
We’ve seen more than a few come and go over those years and we thank those who have been with us in the past and welcome the new ones. As you’ll see in our annual report, together we’re all working to improve the lives of students, businesses, fishermen and the local community in general.
Capt. Bob
As a first-class tuna tournament, the Casco Bay Bluefin Bonanza combines highly-skilled anglers from all over the northeast in a contest of competition, comradery and fun. We also understand the importance and reward of giving back to our communities.
As an independent, non-profit, 501(c)(3) charitable organization, the Casco Bay Bluefin Bonanza Tuna Tournament is committed to the purpose of raising and expending funds in support of educational scholarships to deserving individuals. To that end, all donations made by charity auction participants, raffle ticket buyers and our sponsors will go toward a scholarship fund to support students in Maine’s community college and technical school system, the graduates of which will ultimately enter the work force and contribute meaningfully to our community.
We’re also dedicated to conserving the resource we value so much, and supporting internships and research at the University of Maine’s Pelagic Fisheries Lab.
President — Capt. Bob Humphrey
Vice President — Capt. Shawn Tibbetts
Director at Large — Capt. Tom Pappas
Secretary — Jane Humphrey
Treasurer — Capt. Jessica Metayer
Capt. Jordan Caron
Capt. Kurt Christensen
Sue Frigon
Dr. Walt Golet
Helen Humphrey
Kevin Lord
Nick Metayer
Joe Saffian
Merri-Lee West
“The Casco Bay Bluefin Bonanza plays a critical role for students attending Maine’s seven community colleges by providing 16 scholarships to students studying in occupational programs who face financial challenges. We are incredibly grateful to Bob and Jane Humphrey, along with their dedicated team of volunteers, for their unwavering commitment to organizing a top-tier tuna tournament in Maine that benefits our students and community.”
— John Fitzsimmons, Maine Community College Foundation President
Scholarships are where it all started for us back in 2019 and we continue to find more and different ways to increase our reach. Through our endowment with the Foundation for Maine’s Community Colleges (FMCC), we can ensure that scholarships for students enrolled in trades and marine science programs will be available in perpetuity. Furthermore, we also provide 16 additional scholarships, and are working with several schools to create dedicated internships for designated students in specific disciplines associated with our mission.
Many of our scholarship recipients are non-traditional students that don’t qualify for free tuition. Even those that do must still cover 2/3 of the cost of their education. Businesses that employ trade workers understand and appreciate the importance of these scholarships as they bring more qualified individuals to a workforce desperately in need of them.
“Without a scholarship like this one I most likely wouldn’t have gone to college at all.”
— Kimberly F.
“This scholarship not only provides crucial financial support but also serves as a validation of my hard work and dedication.”
— Richard B.
“I would like to extend my heartfelt appreciation to you for your generous donation and your commitment to supporting the community.”
— Lance T.
In 2025 we presented a check for $16,000 to the Foundation for Maine’s Community Colleges to continue our scholarship program.
While our endowment with the Southern Maine Community College Foundation has been fulfilled, we continue adding to the Lindsay Withers Memorial Scholarship. This program provides scholarships in perpetuity to students enrolled in SMCC’s Emergency Medical Services / Paramedicine program. While we still have a long way to go, our hope is that one day all of Maine’s rural communities will have the first responders they need.
In 2025 we were honored with the Outstanding Business Award from the Southern Maine Community College Foundation. This award is given to a business or organization that has made a significant impact through its support of SMCC and the broader business community.
Part of the proceeds from our event go toward providing internships for students working at the University of Maine’s Pelagic Fisheries Lab. The Tournament weigh-in serves as a week-long field lab where these students, under the leadership of Dr. Walt Golet, gain practical, hands-on experience not only in fisheries biology but in interacting with fishermen. This provides them with a stronger background to enter the fields of fisheries biology, science and management. We’re already seeing real life examples as several former interns now return each year as professionals.
In 2025 we presented a check for $25,000 to the University of Maine Foundation to support internships and research at the Pelagic Fisheries Lab.
L to R: Jane Humphrey, CBBB Secretary; Bob Humphrey, CBBB President; Liz Erickson, Senior Director of Philanthropy, UMaine Foundation; Diane Rowland, Dean of the College of Earth, Life, and Health Sciences at UMaine; Sammi Nadeau, UMaine Pelagic Fisheries Lab; Shawn Tibbetts, CBBB Vice President.
Ellie Mitschele
University of Maine
Grady Gobeil
University of Maine
Amelia McAvoy
Bate’s College
Molly Rexford
Grace Sanford
Dr. Walt Golet
Sammi Nadeau
John Carlucci
Mackenzie O’Donnell
Joe Dello Russo
PhD Student
Kay Zipp
PhD Student
Brian Alper
Masters Student
Blaise Jenner
Masters Student
“We greatly appreciate the support and opportunities that the Casco Bay Bluefin Bonanza provides for both our UMaine faculty, like Walt Golet, and our students. The event is an amazing opportunity for our students to gain hands-on experience in gathering critical data about the fishery. As part of the tournament, students are engaged in maneuvering, sampling, cataloging, and breaking down the tuna brought in each morning by various fishing boats. In the process, they are interacting with and providing information to the fishermen, the public, and the scientific community.”
— Diane Rowland, Dean of the College of Earth, Life, and Health Sciences at the University of Maine
Through our endowment with the University of Maine Foundation’s Highly Migratory Species Conservation Fund, we’re supporting critical bluefin tuna research at the University of Maine’s Pelagic Fisheries Lab, the results of which are already being used to shape future management of Atlantic bluefin tuna.
Genetics for Giants is a pilot program that aims to identify stock structure of the bluefin we land. Using gene tags, researchers hope to find tuna relatives (parent-sibling matches). This information can then be used to derive a more accurate estimate of the number of bluefin in the ocean, and ultimately ensure the resource and the fishery remain sustainable.
Researchers use several different types of tags to track tuna including traditional / conventional plastic and more sophisticated electronic tags. From this, they can determine where these fish travel and at what times of the year they enter their spawning grounds or cross management zones.
Using reproductive tissues and genetic techniques, researchers can assess when bluefin spawn for the first time. This information is used to set minimum size limits and estimate total population abundance.
At the 2025 meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, the United States was awarded a 13% increase in quota for western Atlantic bluefin tuna. This increase was based in part on results from the PFL’s close kin mark and recapture research. This will mean an economic boost to the fishery and to the waterfront infrastructure that supports it.
Dr. Walt Golet is an Associate Professor at the University of Maine’s School of Marine Sciences leading the Pelagic Fisheries Lab. He was recently one of a few UMaine faculty awarded the UMaine Faculty Mentor award. The Pelagic Fisheries Lab is on the cutting edge of research around highly migratory species like Atlantic bluefin tuna, and Walt leads an exceptional cohort of graduate students and early-career researchers along the way.
“This collaboration with the Bluefin Bonanza also allows the Pelagic Fisheries Lab to increase the scope of our work on bluefin tuna.”
— Dr. Walt Golet
In trying to merge our missions of community, conservation and education, we provide multiple opportunities to educate people in our community and beyond about the conservation of marine fisheries in Casco Bay and the Gulf of Maine.
Thanks to Dr. Walt Golet, we were able to produce a 20-part Tuna Science video series for our YouTube channel. It covers a broad range of topics from history and natural history to research, management and industry support. The entire series is available to all with an interest in bluefin tuna so please be sure to visit the Casco Bay Bluefin Bonanza YouTube channel.
Thanks to our generous partners at Cabela’s, the University of Maine Pelagic Fisheries Lab’s team and all our volunteers, our Annual Youth Day was bigger and better than ever.
Hands-on demonstrations from the Lab team.
Kids get to touch specimens and assist scientists collecting samples.
Kids participate in a crab fishing tournament on the docks.
Prizes awarded for biggest, most, and most unusual catches.
Little anglers pick their best crabs and enter them into the crab racing derby.
More prizes handed out at the crab racing derby.
Our Annual Youth Day is free and open to the public and we get more kids every year. We still wonder who has more fun, the kids or their parents?
Thanks to our sponsors from The Hometown Foundation, our Annual Day on the Bay continues to grow in interest and participation.
This special invitation-only event provides an opportunity for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities to see and learn about the sights and species of Casco Bay.
Then they also had a crab fishing tournament back at Southern Maine Community College, where everyone was a winner.
Much of what we do is very integrated and circular in nature. Many of the businesses that provide financial support in the form of scholarships ultimately benefit by having more and more qualified individuals in the workforce. The research that fishermen support through us provides more opportunity for them to increase their catch and their income. The schools we support also provide technical and logistical support to us, and we’d like to especially recognize Southern Maine and Central Maine Community Colleges. The interns we support go above and beyond to help us out during tournament time and participate in special events like all those above. That’s how a family is supposed to work and we are all one big family.
This is where the big picture comes in, and how everything we do throughout the year benefits the local community.
According to NOAA Fisheries, the average trip cost for bluefin tuna fishing is $823 per boat, per day. This includes things like ice, food, bait, fuel and tackle, all of which comes from businesses in our community. With 50 boats competing in a 4-day tournament, that represents an infusion of over $160,000 into the local working waterfront.
During the 2025 Casco Bay Bluefin Bonanza, anglers landed 17 fish for a total of over 7,912 pounds. At an average ex-boat price of $6.00 / pound, that equates to over $47,000, and some fishermen got even better prices for their fish. These fish are purchased by local buyers, then brought to market, providing an economic benefit to local wholesalers, retailers, fish markets and restaurants.
Bluefin tuna can be worth a lot of money, but only when properly handled, and improper handling could have a cascading effect on the local market. That’s why we stress that all tuna brought to the tournament scales have been well cared for.
To better educate all tuna anglers, we have prepared a manual on Proper Handling of Bluefin Tuna at Sea, which is available on our website at www.bluefinbonanza.org.
In 2025 we joined forces with the Bailey Island Fishing Tournament and the Boothbay Harbor Tuna Challenge to again provide the Gulf of Maine Grand Slam. This effort offered an opportunity for anglers participating in all 3 tournaments to vie for additional prize money and earn the title of Maine’s top tuna boat. It also strengthened support for each tournament’s specific initiatives.
Nearly 90% of seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported. Through our Bluefin Initiative program, we’re promoting our local, artisanal bluefin tuna fishery by encouraging wholesalers and retailers and consumers to keep it local.
We’re very proud of what we have accomplished in 7 years, and even more excited about what the future holds.
| Program | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FMCC Scholarships | $7,000 | $14,000 | $7,000 | $16,000 | $16,000 | $16,000 | $16,000 | $92,000 |
| FMCC Endowment | — | $10,000 | $10,000 | $25,000 | — | $5,000 | — | $50,000 |
| Large Pelagics Research Lab | $1,000 | — | — | — | — | — | — | $1,000 |
| Golet Pelagic Fisheries Lab | — | $1,000 | $25,000 | $40,000 | $25,000 | $25,000 | $25,000 | $140,000 |
| SMCCF Withers Scholarship | — | — | — | — | $5,000 | $10,000 | $1,500 | $16,500 |
| W.S. Emerson Scholarship | — | — | — | — | $5,000 | — | $6,000 | $11,000 |
| Total Giving | $8,000 | $25,000 | $42,000 | $81,000 | $51,000 | $56,000 | $48,500 | $310,500 |
We work with multiple media and social media outlets to spread the word of our mission.
News Center Maine was on hand for a special report.
Our sponsors at Durabrite shared their own YouTube video.
Brian Berthiaume Media prepared a video highlighting our science.
Our own Tuna Science YouTube series provides a way for folks to learn more about the science we support.
Downeast Magazine sent a photographer out to capture the action at sea.
We were featured in the July / August of On The Water magazine.
Our big event under the tent provides a chance for fishermen, friends and families to get together for an evening of libation, celebration and fun, all for a good cause.
We are, after all, a tuna tournament, and part of the funds we raise through tournament registration is awarded to recognize the accomplishments of our anglers.
Capt. Bobby Strong
Amy Lynn
659.5 lbs.
Capt. Rusty Parmenter
Patricia Ann
649 lbs.
Capt. Keith Jordan
Bailey & Bella
563 lbs.
Capt. Isaac Molt
Redemption
532.5 lbs.
Capt. Alan Dugas
Rolling Stone
512 lbs.
None of what we do would be possible without the incredible support of our donors. Please take a moment to read through the list of individuals and businesses who contributed. When you get a chance, please thank them for us, and consider patronizing their businesses.
Central Maine Power
Carhartt
Katelyn A.
W.S. Emerson
The Hometown Foundation
Atlantic Captain’s Academy
Barefoot Marine Decking
Batson River Brewing and Distillery
Big Fish Gyotaku
Boise Cascade
Cabela’s / Bass Pro (local)
Ducks Unlimited
Durabrite Lights
Eldredge Lumber
Fat Kid Culinary
Floor and Decor
Free Range Fish & Lobster
Landry / French Construction
Linda Greenlaw Charters
Maine Roofing
Penn Reels
Port Harbor Marine
Red Claw
Reel Easy Custom Rods
Sevigny-Lyons Insurance
Solid State Marine Batteries
Thomas & Lord
Vessel Services
Zachau Construction
Bath Subaru
Bob and Jane Humphrey
Casco Bay Ford
E. J. Jaxtimer
FuelOX
Hammond Lumber
Home Depot
Jordan Equipment
Keith Jordan
Life Raft Services
MaineLove
Mainely Social, Inc.
Nothing Bundt Cakes
On The Water
Portland Yacht Services
Relentless Pursuit Charters
Rowe Ford (Westbrook and Auburn)
Royal River Boat
Springer’s
Tim Barry Concrete
Trademark Credit Union
AAA of Northern New England
Bow Street Market
Butterfly Stitches (Waterboro)
Catface Cafe
CMCC — Building Construction Technology
Gorham Sand and Gravel
Jim Barkley
Jim Merryman
Jon Tanguay
Kittery Trading Post
LL Bean
Lowe’s
Maine Mariners Hockey
Milton Rents
Rusty Parmenter
Pat’s Pizza Yarmouth
Pineland Farms
Poland Spring
SeaTow Portland Midcoast
Southern Maine Community College
Suzanne Frigon
Tactacam
Larry Tibbetts
Welch’s Woodcraft
Yankee Ford
We go above and beyond in making sure our sponsors receive the recognition they deserve, and we work with them in finding creative ways to do so.
727 Poland Range Road
Pownal, ME 04069
The Casco Bay Bluefin Bonanza is an independent, non-profit, 501(c)(3) charitable organization. All donations support scholarships, internships, and research.