My Manor

"Wow!" With Philemon's control, the large bag of fish was then placed into the pool next to it. However, as soon as it was put in, the huge swordfish began to struggle, trying to leave the pool, but unfortunately, it was thinking too much. Edward was already prepared. He rushed over, picked up a huge blanket, and wrapped it around the fish's body. Then Jiang Hai and Philemon also ran over, lifted the nearly three-meter-long fish, and walked it into the reservoir next to it.

The scientific name of this fish is Atlantic blue marlin. Although it is called a marlin, it belongs to the swordfish family.

This fish can grow up to five meters long and weigh 1,800 kilograms, which is over one ton, nearly two tons. Of course, this fish was not that big. If it were, not to mention whether Jiang Hai's large boat could catch it, Jiang Hai and the others alone wouldn't be able to lift it. Though the fish was struggling, Jiang Hai and his team estimated that it weighed about 600 kilograms. While not particularly heavy, it was enough for three grown men to use all their strength.

Fortunately, Jiang Hai was there. Though not qualified to be a sailor, he was strong enough. He directly held the fish and placed it in the reservoir. Seeing the fish swim in the water, Jiang Hai and the other three were relieved.

If the fish had died, it would have been worthless. A big blue marlin like that would only be worth 30,000 if dead. Philemon had shouted for 100,000 because it was alive. Marlins, swordfish, and tuna, these valuable fish, are typically not sold alive.

Even in aquariums, marlins and swordfish are rarely on display because these fish are difficult to catch.

These fish swim so fast that fishing boats can't catch them, and trawlers definitely won't catch them.

As for purse seine boats, their speed is too slow to pull in the nets. Even if they catch the fish, the fish can escape through the nets with their speed. If not, their impact could break most nets.

If Philemon hadn't raised the nets immediately, it was very likely that the fish would have slipped away or even destroyed the nets.

That would have meant a huge loss for Jiang Hai and his team—a new net broken after just one haul. That would have been a disaster.

So, to catch these three types of fish, about 90% of the time it relies on fishing.

After catching them, there's another big problem. The fish is huge and struggles intensely. Even with several strong men, it would be difficult to hold it down. If not for Jiang Hai, Edward and Philemon would have likely been in trouble.

In addition, these fish need to swim constantly to breathe, and they would die soon after leaving seawater.

Usually, when such fish are caught, they are killed and immediately frozen.

However, Jiang Hai's fishing boat is different. His reservoir draws water from the sea, meaning that as the boat moves, the water in the reservoir is constantly refreshed, making it hard for the fish to die. It guarantees that the fish will stay alive until it's sold.

"This time we're rich, boss, don't forget our bonuses!" Looking at the blue marlin in the water, Philemon would have grinned if his ears weren't blocking him. He immediately spoke to Jiang Hai.

"Of course, 10,000 per person—a good start." Not to mention other fish, just this blue marlin alone is worth 100,000. Jiang Hai wasn't going to be stingy with the money. He waved his hand and spoke to the two men around him. Hearing Jiang Hai's words, Philemon and Edward laughed even more happily. Then, everyone returned to the deck, where there was still a lot of fish to process.

Jiang Hai specifically caught a sea bass about half a meter long and went to the bottom deck. The biggest contributor to catching this fish was the large fool in the sea, and Jiang Hai had to reward him.

Walking toward Jiang Hai, Dasha was very excited. It was clear that he was lucky this time, being in Jiang Hai's fishing grounds. Otherwise, with the blue marlin's speed, Dasha wouldn't have been able to see the waves within ten minutes.

These fish are valuable, and many people want to catch them. Despite this, the World Conservation Organization has not listed them as endangered, showing how difficult they are to catch. Catching them definitely depends on skill and luck.

"This is a reward for you. Let's go out and play!" Jiang Hai walked up to Dasha, took his hand out of his glove, then used his pocket knife to make a small wound and squeezed out a drop of blood. In the past month or so, he hadn't had any chance to bleed, so his scales had grown a lot. He didn't mind this drop. After dripping the blood into the sea bass's mouth, he stuffed the fish into Dasha's mouth. As soon as the fish entered, Dasha recognized it as a good thing and immediately swallowed it, then turned and dove into the seabed.

The energy in Jiang Hai's blood was too strong, and Dasha needed time to digest it.

After Dasha left, Jiang Hai returned to the deck. This time, he saw there were even more valuable things in the pool. His eyes lit up instantly.

Among them were dozens of lobsters of various sizes, enough to make Jiang Hai excited.

"Damn, this must be over ten kilograms!" Jiang Hai walked into the pool and grabbed a huge lobster.

"No, it's probably around eight or nine kilograms, but a lobster this size is considered a king lobster, and it can be sold for at least two or three thousand dollars," Philemon said with a smile.

While this lobster was large, it wasn't the biggest, but it was still in the acceptable range.

"Only two or three thousand dollars? Hey, your lobsters are too cheap. Forget it—today's fish is good, let's eat this guy tonight!" Jiang Hai said with a smile, looking at the lobster waving its big claws.

"Eat it? Haha, only you, the boss, would be willing to do that?" Philemon and Edward exchanged looks, then Edward said helplessly. It was unclear whether Jiang Hai was there to make money or enjoy life.

For Jiang Hai, it was a mix of both—making money and enjoying life.

Everyone then started sorting the catch. Compared to the last time when there were more fish and fewer other things, this time other items accounted for almost 70%. There were still many valuable things on the seabed of Jiang Hai. Dozens of lobsters of different sizes, mostly less than two pounds, were thrown back. In the United States, lobsters are graded based on their size.

The smallest is one pound, known as "chicken," which doesn't sell for much. Larger ones are called "quarters," and the biggest are called "jumbo." Lobsters without claws are called "culls," and these have no value.

About one-third of the lobsters were less than one kilogram. Even so, there were more than fifty lobsters to sell, which would bring in a significant income.

In addition to lobsters, the net also yielded many shrimps and crabs. The previous net had almost no shrimps, but this time nearly 100 kilograms of Arctic sweet shrimp were caught, making Jiang Hai drool since it was his favorite kind. Along with these, there were also many crabs, including swimming and walking crabs, weighing hundreds of kilograms in total. If Jiang Hai kept all of these, it would be enough to last him a year.

In addition to the lobsters, crabs, and shrimps, there were also many shellfish, though these were mostly thrown back by Edward and Philemon, as they could be used as fish feed in the future. These shellfish were not much to eat for them. Thanks to Jiang Hai's sharp eyes, about 10 kilograms were set aside, which would have otherwise been discarded. Additionally, small octopuses and squids were also thrown back, as they would serve as future bait.

Along with the feed, there were also broken stones, corals, and reefs. A lot of fish were caught, but the most abundant was the flounder. Although flounders may not be well-known, most people have heard of them.

This flatfish lives on the seabed. When the net is dragged, flounders of all sizes are caught. The smaller ones were thrown back, and the valuable ones were kept. One of them was more than a meter long. According to Philemon, this is called Atlantic flounder, the same as Pacific halibut but from different regions. These fish can grow up to two and a half meters, weigh over 300 kilograms, and live for fifty years.

This one was around a meter and two meters long, meaning it had lived for over ten years. If sold, it would be worth a lot of money.

After sorting through all the fish, even Jiang Hai's four large storage areas were nearly full.

These fish didn't need to be placed in cold storage, as ice freshness was enough.

After these two nets, three of the warehouses were almost full. As Edward turned the steering wheel, the fishing boat headed toward the distant Boston area. They had caught a lot of valuable fish. If they sold them in Winthrop, they might not fetch a high price, but in larger cities, they would do much better. After about an hour, a vague fishing port appeared in front of Jiang Hai and the others. Many boats were coming in and out of the port, indicating that these people were fishermen.