Giant Atlantic bluefin tuna caught in North Sea after 60 years signals stock revival
London: A 745-pound Atlantic bluefin tuna caught off the northeast coast of England has become the first of its kind recorded in the North Sea in 60 years, signaling a major revival of the fishery.
Jack Gardner and his crew aboard Dominator hooked the behemoth near Whitby. The fish, just 112 pounds short of a record, fought for hours before being landed.”It jumped out of the water, we all just looked at each other in awe,” Gardner told the BBC.
Before World War II, tuna fishing was a valuable industry in Britain, prized for restaurants and canning. Overfishing of both tuna and their herring prey caused the fishery to collapse.
The catch is seen as confirmation that conservation efforts have worked. University of Exeter researcher Dr. Lucy Hawkes said a tuna reaching this size indicates an exceptionally healthy underlying ecosystem.”Bluefin tuna are top predators who can only be in these waters if the ecosystems underneath them are healthy,” she said, crediting judicious fisheries management with very small catch limits.
Hawkes’ team routinely tags bluefin tuna off Exeter on Britain’s southwest coast. The Whitby catch, on the opposite side of the country, suggests tuna populations are returning on both coasts, possibly from different origins.
