This magnificent 1368lb Pacific blue marlin is the biggest caught off the coast of Hawaii for over 20 years, and less than 8lb short of the long standing IGFA world record for the species.

It was caught off Kona by Guy Kitaoka, who was fishing in an area where plenty of tuna were showing aboard ‘Dayna’, skippered by Darrell Omori.

Guy used a skipjack tuna bait, which took around an hour to bring to the boatside in a brutal battle that required the help of a nearby boat.

The last blue marlin over 1,3000lb to be caught off Hawaii was a fish of 1,356lb taken on June 6, 1992. The official IGFA world record is a marlin weighing 1,376lb, boated off Kaaiwi Point, Kona, Hawaii on May 31st 1982 by Jay De Beaubien.

A 1400lb fish taken aboard Magic Marlin in 1990 did qualify as it was not caught in accordance with IGFA rules.