Wicked Tuna Captain Relies on Globalstar
When it comes to fishing, Captain Dave Carraro of FV Tuna.com knows a thing or two, having run a successful charter business for the past 37 years, and is now a leading competitor and previous winner of the television show Wicked Tuna.
Carraro keeps a busy schedule off land, even flying as a pilot for JetBlue when he isn’t fishing.
“Sometimes we are out on the water for four to five days in a row, fishing around the clock, which can be very strenuous, both physically and mentally. Not to mention the weather can be unpredictable and we can be fighting fish in very, very rough seas,” Carraro said.
While there may be unknowns relative to weather and fish cooperating, one thing Carraro doesn’t worry about is reliable communication: “As a commercial tuna fisherman, I’m constantly in competition with the other fishing captains in trying to find the best spot to catch large Bluefin Tuna,” he said. “Recently, I was 180 miles off the coast of Gloucester at a place called George’s Bank and was out of the reach of cell phone coverage. I was able to use my Globalstar GSP-1700 satellite phone to communicate with other fishermen inshore that were catching. Because we were able to get that information, we moved our boat and ended up catching our limit of four giant Bluefin tuna valued at about $20,000.”
While Carraro used to rely on a single side band radio, he lets his colleagues know that not only is it outdated, but also difficult to use in comparison to Globalstar products and services.
“Communication offshore used to be distorted and difficult to understand. Now we can rely on Globalstar for reliability and crystal-clear call quality at an extremely affordable price point. In addition, the small mobile handset can be taken in a life raft if the need arises – very comforting to say the least.”
Carraro, who has been a fisherman his whole life, describes himself not only as competitive when it comes to reeling in the biggest tuna, but also safety-conscious.
“I now require my whole crew to keep a SPOT Gen3 satellite messenger and tracking device on their primary survival suits. I also keep three SPOT Trace satellite tracking units on our secondary inflatables so we can be easily located in case of emergency.”
