Ballantyne's Cove, Nova Scotia

Where it all begins - the small fishing village of Ballantyne's Cove, Nova Scotia.

In order to make the transition from lobstering to tuna fishing, captains and crew must pull and stack hundreds of lobster pots.

Typical PEI workboats are then converted from commercial lobstering to hook-and-line tuna rigs.

Local waters teem with herring. These fresh-dead "candy" baits, are the key ingredient necessary to create an oily slick and chum line that will bring up the schools of giant bluefin tuna.

Once the chum slick is established, the huge fish start to appear, a spectacle that can last for hours.

Bluefin feed in a similar manner to other species of tuna, only these fish weigh anywhere from 800-1200 pounds!!

Watching these huge fish feed right at your feet never gets old!

When the Giant Bluefin start getting excited enough to start crashing the baits it's time to start thinking about getting a hooked rig in the water.

Australian Jarad "Dingo" Boshammer gets ready to deploy a herring rig off the stern.

Captain Tony Berkowitz ventured north from Cabo to try his hand at battling a monster bluefin.

Captain AJ Francis of Tuna Adventures steers the boat during battle.

Ron Kawaja pinching for max pressure, while Captain John Gavin of Giant Bluefin Tuna Charters gets ready to wire the fish.

Wiring a fish the size of a Volkswagen is no easy task.

Once the fish is brought up to the side of the boat, captains and crew work together to revive the fish by swimming it along the side of the boat before setting it free.

Once the fish has been revived, crewmen will snip the leader at the base of the hook in order to release the fish.

Photos from left to right. Although normally a release fishery, certain boats/captains in PEI are granted a small commercial quota - note the red tag near the upper sickle fin of the fish. Photo 2: Captain John Gavin (right) of Giant Bluefin Tuna Charters is all smiles after weighing his 2010 season "harvest" fish. Photo 3: Ron Kawaja was a lucky angler invited to participate in a harvest day. Here, he poses with a couple of the best Giant Bluefin Tuna Captains in the biz - AJ Francis and John Gavin - with their 860-pound monster.

A Giant Bluefin tail makes a fantastic mount, shown off here by Captain AJ Francis of Tuna Adventures.

For more information on this incredible Giant Bluefin Tuna fishery, visit TheWatermansJournal.com and read their article titled 'Nova Scotia: The Land of Giants'".