A Wicked good fish story in Lynn

LYNN – Bluefins – ocean-going fish weighing hundreds of pounds and worth thousands of dollars – are the stars of “Wicked Tuna,” but some of the reality show?s supporting cast work in a Bennett Street warehouse.North Atlantic Traders Ltd. owner Robert Kliss and his 15 employees import and export bluefins and other high-priced tuna that comes off fishing boats for processing in North Atlantic?s plant.?This is all for sushi – expensive sushi,” said North Atlantic worker Lucas Pina.National Geographic?s show, which airs another episode on Sunday at 9 p.m., chronicles the challenges and competition between bluefin fishermen vying for a chance to haul in a fish worth $5,000 on the sushi market – sometimes even more.Regular viewers of “Wicked Tuna” have seen Kliss and his crew, including Pina and Mike Klobucher of Marblehead and Lynn resident Scott D?Amico, unloading fresh bluefin catches.Much of the action takes place on Gloucester?s State Pier.Episodes currently airing were shot last summer and fall, but Pina and Klobucher are poised to drive south in one of North Atlantic?s trucks to film new episodes as soon as the bluefins start biting fishing hooks off the North Carolina coast.His co-workers jokingly call D?Amico the star of “Wicked Tuna” because of his prominence in some episodes, but Pina is recognizable with his full beard. The real stars – in addition to the fish – are fishermen who know Kliss.?Dave Carraro has sold fish to me for almost 20 years. When he got picked for the show, he wanted us to be his buyer,” Kliss said.An East Lynn native, Kliss grew up fishing off Marblehead with his father. He opened a fish processing business in Portland, Maine, in 1994, quickly prospering in tuna and sea urchin sales.Market changes sent him to Lynn in 2000, where he operated out of the East Coast Seafood building on Alley Street.?There are a lot of reasons to be here – proximity to the airport and the product?s right off the coast,” he said.Kliss and his crew weathered tough years in the fish business, expanding to include more than 200 fishermen hunting bluefins off the East Coast, as well as boat owners in Greece, Sicily and Grenada.?We interact with a lot of fishermen. They call me up and ask, ?Bob, where?s the tuna??” Kliss said.His crew spent four months last year retrofitting the Bennett Street building into a new warehouse. When the bluefins start biting, work goes on non-stop with trucks rolling up to the loading dock and burly bluefins chopped down into parts that can be processed, packed in ice, and prepared for international shipping in coffin-like containers.?I handle more bluefin than anyone in the country,” Kliss said.D?Amico likes hearing from friends who spot him in a “Wicked” episode, but his workmates said hard work tempers the excitement of being in front of a camera.?It?s not fun when it is 3 a.m. and you do take after take,” Klobucher said.