Five hundred pounds of fresh Bermuda tuna were flown to market in New York yesterday.

The export of Mr. Bobby Lambe's catch marked a milestone for the local commercial fishing industry.

But former Fisheries officer Mr. Craig Trott -- who along with Mr. Lambe is one of only two Bermudians involved in longline fishing -- said such sales will be "one off'' events until support for the local industry improves.

"We're capable of all sorts of great things down here,'' Mr. Trott, 39, told The Royal Gazette . However, "the industry needs some real assistance from the policy makers.

"We're kind of stopped on many different fronts -- from basic shoreside facilities to the cost of diesel fuel.'' Longline fishing -- which takes place well outside the reef -- involves setting miles of line with hundreds of hooks at various depths. Mr. Trott, who began longlining in January with the 50-foot boat Trilogy , said a $100,000 investment is needed to get started.

While 40 full-time Bermudian commercial fishermen struggle, about $3.25 million worth of fresh and frozen fish is imported to Bermuda each year, Mr.

Trott said.

And while foreign fishing vessels -- even those plying Bermuda waters -- buy their fuel in Bermuda duty-free, local fishermen pay 51 cents out of every fuel dollar to Government in taxes.

Further, there has been no base for commercial fishermen since the Sargasso Sea Food project ended in 1989.

Yesterday, Mr. Lambe and Mr. Trott were helped by other fishermen to land the 500 pounds of yellow fin and big eye tuna at the Government dock at Coney Island. They cleaned and gutted the fish in the unsheltered area, then rushed it to the Airport to be flown to the United States.

Mr. Lambe, 28, who earlier sailed with the American longliner Stephen B , said he invested more than $100,000 in his 40-foot New Nuts II before he started longlining this summer.

He had made about four or five trips since then, but "this is the first time I've caught a half decent amount that was enough to get exported.'' He was waiting to hear back from Manhattan restaurant supplier Down East Sea Food about the quality of the tuna and hoped he had found a regular customer.

"We're looking for a place to package the fish inside,'' he said. And, "I need more ice.'' With the US Naval Air Station closed as of September 1, Mr. Trott and others have been pushing for the right to use Marginal Wharf to land the fish. A stone's throw from the Airport, "logistically, that's the ideal space,'' he said.

Finance Minister the Hon. Grant Gibbons, the main Cabinet Minister responsible for the Bases, sees "merit'' in the idea, but "I've been unable to even get some provisional use of some wharf space over there,'' Mr. Trott said.

One problem is that Fisheries comes under the Environment Ministry and "there have been too many changes of Minister'' in recent years, he said.

"Our problems are not ones of technology or energy,'' Mr. Trott said. "We have the energy and we have a firm grasp of the technology.

"The missing element in all of this is the will. Unfortunately, events of the last decade and a half lead me to believe there really isn't much will to push these things along.''