First-place honors at the 2023 Casco Bay Bluefin Bonanza went to the crew of My Three Blondes for catching a 756-pound bluefin tuna. Courtesy of Casco Bay Bluefin Bonanza

Captain Joseph Pinkham and the crew of My Three Blondes captured first-place honors during the fifth-annual Casco Bay Bluefin Bonanza in early August.

Pinkham and his crew earned a $25,000 prize for catching a 756-pound bluefin tuna. Each of the top-five finishers caught tuna weighing at least 700 pounds. In all, 34 boats hauled in a record 66 bluefin during the four-day event.

Proceeds from the nonprofit event go toward community college scholarships for students enrolled in trades and marine science programs, internships for University of Maine students working at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, and an endowment with the University of Maine Foundation supporting bluefin tuna research at the University of Maine’s Pelagic Fisheries Lab at GMRI.