Shock 500lb tuna caught off Wales!

An epic four-and-a-half-hour battle has ended with the capture of a 500lb tuna off the coast of Wales.
The monster fish was taken by Somerset angler Chris Bett during a shark-fishing
trip on Andrew Alsop’s Milford Haven-based charter vessel ‘White Water II’.
Nothing could have prepared Chris and his friend John Beck for what was about to happen as the tuna made off with a hookbait suspended just yards from the boat.
The fish stripped line from Chris’s reel at such a rate that the anglers were forced to pursue it for over four miles before finally setting eyes on it.
“I’ve been all over the globe catching great white sharks, marlin and other big-game fish, but this is without doubt my most amazing capture and the greatest fight I’ve ever had. It completely smashed me up and I had to take pain killers before work the next day,” Taunton-based Chris told Angling Times.
“John and I had just come back from a tuna fishing trip in Madeira and didn’t manage to catch one. To hook one off Wales a day later blew my mind.
“The gear Andrew uses is perfect for sharks, but this tuna completely destroyed the reel to the point that I had my palm over the spool to try and stop the fish running. I now have burns and blisters all over my hands.”
The tuna took a mackerel hookbait 25 miles out, in an area skipper Andrew has always maintained held these fish.
Oldham’s John Beck has also caught his fair share of big sharks and admits that he was privileged to be a part of such an historic event.
Both he and Andrew are full of admiration for Chris, who managed to single-handedly battle the tuna to the side of the boat before it was safely released.
“It was phenomenal,” said John. “Around three hours into the fight Chris looked pale and one of his knees went, but there was no way he was giving up. I kept asking if he wanted me to take over, but he said no.
“I also had to hold him upright because it was far from a calm day and there were a few times where he’d be in a heap in the corner. I fed him up with Coke to keep his sugar levels up when he looked a bit pale and peaky.
“The odds were stacked against us, but as a team we did what we believe will never be repeated.”
The catch comes just weeks after thousands of tuna were spotted and photographed off the Cornish coast. Not only is Andrew now one of just a few UK skippers to have caught tuna, but he is excited at the prospect of what other predators these fish could attract.
“I’ve seen a lot on this boat and landed more than 8,500 sharks, but this was truly incredible. This fish stripped 400 metres of line off the reel 16 times and was smashing through waves like a bulldozer,” said Andrew.
“The first run was absolutely electrifying, then came a couple of hours of chasing the fish,  covering miles of ocean as it tried to empty the reel of line.
“When we finally caught sight of the tuna we all made a conservative estimate of its weight, so it could have been more than 500lb. It’s such a shame we didn’t manage to get any quality pictures.
“Tuna are now part of the food chain which will bring in bigger sharks like makos and possibly even a great white!”