Fishermen in Hawaii Caught 220 Pounds of Tuna and Donated It to Health Care Workers

Courtesy of Red Sea Ocean Adventures

When five fishermen from Hawaii took to the sea, they had one goal in mind, which was to feed their local health care workers.

Kyle Nakamoto, the executive producer of the diving show Hawaii Skin Diver TV, and one of the fishermen told CNN the lucky group had caught two yellowfin tuna totaling 220 pounds (approx. 100 kg).

Tommy and Landon Mukaigawa, two of the fishermen who caught the tuna. Courtesy of Red Sea Ocean Adventures

The massive fish was sent to a seafood distributor, who cleaned, cooked, and prepared the tuna into more than 300 poke bowls.

The prepared meals were then delivered to Honolulu’s Straub Medical Center and The Queen’s Medical Center.

Health care workers at the Straub Medical Center with the donated tuna poke bowls. Courtesy of Red Sea Ocean Adventures

“Our staff at Straub Medical Center has been overwhelmed by the support and generosity displayed for our health care workers who have been on the frontlines of this pandemic caring for our patients and our community,” Straub Medical Center Chief Operating Officer Travis Clegg told CNN in a statement.

“We are so grateful for all the donations we have received for our health care workers. This particular donation of fresh ahi was especially thoughtful, and we appreciate the hard work and effort that went into catching it and preparing such a wonderful meal for our teams,” he further added.

Nakamoto and his team were inspired to do good for their community after witnessing another local fisherman, 104-year-old Setsuo Todoroki, regularly catch fish and donate it to strangers in need.

“He passed away [...] and was really the inspiration of the project. We did it in his legacy,” Nakamoto told CNN.

Setsuo Todoroki, 104 years old, regularly caught fish and donated them to strangers in need. Courtesy of Red Sea Ocean Adventures

Nakamoto considered giving away the fish a truly “amazing opportunity.”

“Giving away two whole yellowfin tuna is a really big thing, this is top of the line, grade-A tuna,” he said. “We just wanted to do something for the workers at our local hospitals to thank them for everything they are doing for us.”

The group also filmed an episode for Hawaii Skin Diver TV showing their journey catching the tuna for health care workers. The episode was aired on June 2 on Hawaiian TV channel Spectrum OC16.

The CNN Wire contributed to this report.