Big game bonanza!
ANGLERS should soon be able to legally fish for Atlantic bluefin tuna off UK shores, with a realistic chance of catching them for the first time in more than a generation.
In a development that seemed inconceivable only a decade ago, charter boat customers look certain to be allowed to participate in a thriving British big game fishery, the likes of which hasn’t been seen for the better part of 70 years.
The exciting news comes after the EU gave the UK 0.25 per cent – almost 50 tonnes – of its international bluefin quota as part of the Brexit Deal. Initially modelled on the Republic of Ireland’s successful scientific catch-and-release-tagging (CHART) tuna fishery run on registered charter boats, these British fisheries could grow in size and scale over coming years.
Anglers should soon be able to legally fish for Atlantic bluefin tuna off UK shores
“Over the past two years experts from the recreational angling sector and the scientific community have worked tirelessly alongside civil servants to thoroughly address all the issues required to establish sustainable, world-leading recreational live-release Atlantic bluefin fisheries in UK waters,”
explained Steve Murphy, the driving force behind Bluefin Tuna UK, a campaign launched in late 2018 which called for a recreational catch-and-release fishery supporting scientific research.
Wide support
Since that launch, numerous MPs have lent their support to the proposals, as have charter skippers from the Professional Boatman’s Association and the Angling Trades Association, along with a number of its members.
The Angling Trust has been hugely supportive of the campaign, offering expert advice and participating in the process from the start. Its Head of Sea Angling, David Mitchell, welcomed the willingness of government department Defra to work with angling in an exercise that should, all being well, conclude in a ‘UK CHART’ programme.
“We’ve made excellent progress in making the case for a science-led tagging programme to be run this year (2021).
“We’ll be keeping anglers informed as this consultation process continues – hopefully with news that charter boats will be taking anglers out fishing for tuna as part of important ongoing scientific research into the species,” said David.
Bluefin like this 300lb giant have been caught accidentally by charter skippers targeting sharks
Future quotas
In the short term, launching bluefin fisheries off the south west of England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Crown Dependencies Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man would not require much of the international quota be set aside to run CHART-style catch, tag and release fisheries.
And when angling tourism starts bringing in much-needed money to hoteliers, restaurants, tackle shops, fishing charters and other small local businesses in our coastal communities, there should be scope to grow those fisheries further by securing more international quota in the future.
“While the current focus is on how this 0.25 per cent of quota might best be employed in 2021, Defra will undoubtedly be considering a longer-term strategy and policy for Atlantic bluefin tuna going forward,” explained Steve Murphy.
“If this programme does get the go-ahead then all of the data it gathers will be useful in informing future policy. Socio-economic studies looking at the most profitable uses of this finite resource are going to be essential. And transferring some of the cost of scientific research from the taxpayer to charter businesses catering for paying anglers makes sound financial sense.”
Individual fish average over 300lb
Kit for the job
One thing is certain, the usual rulebook on tackle and techniques will need to be torn up for anglers to be able to hook and bring these hard-fighting ocean predators to the side of the boat for safe release.
With individual fish averaging over 300lb – and occasional specimens approaching three times that – tuna fishing in UK waters will be as close to an extreme sport as angling can get. Whether any of these fish will equal the current largest bluefin ever caught in UK waters – an 852lb specimen landed by John Hedley Lewis fishing out of Scarborough in September 1949 – remains to be seen. But if eyewitness accounts are reliable, then numerous fish in that size range have been spotted feeding in UK waters over the past four years.
One recreational sea angler who has witnessed first-hand the growing number of bluefin off UK shores is former Angling Times journalist Greg Whitehead, who now lives in Guernsey.
He said:
“I’ve fished all over the world and I’ve never seen anything like the bluefin feeding around the Guernsey coast these past four years. The most I’ve seen at once was a school of around 2,000 fish blitzing a four-hectare ball of whitebait. Myself and other boat-owning friends have regularly sat among 1,000-plus feeding bluefin.
“All you can hear is the roar of white water. The air reeks of fish oil and giant tuna almost hit the boat in the frenzy. It’s an amazing sight!”
Cod stocks at critical level
CATCH and release regulations could be introduced to help protect stocks of cod around our shores, a new report has revealed.
The UK fisheries audit released last week by conservation organisation Oceana claimed half a dozen species are in a critical state due to overfishing, with herring, crab, and whiting also amongst the stocks deemed to be at a critical level due to overfishing.
An Oceana spokesperson told us:
“The UK is currently negotiating catch limits with the EU and Norway. Usually, a specific recreational catch quota is allowed, as happened with seabass and European eels, but as this is the first time such negotiations are happening since Brexit, we’re not sure of the outcome. If the UK allocates a zero-catch limit on cod, it could apply to recreational anglers too, which could result in catch-and-release fishing only.”
Catch and release regulations could be introduced to help protect stocks of cod around our shores
Rare white shark stuns captor
Jason Gillespie (50) couldn’t believe his eyes when he battled and boated this all-white tope
He was targeting a wreck off the Isle of Wight when he latched into the rare 3ft-long shark using a squid bait intended for cod. He said:
“Some mates and I were fishing a sandbank for rays, but when the tide ebbed we moved to a deep-water wreck.
“We caught tope from the off but when it was my turn to play a fish, I looked down to see this large white shape coming towards the surface. We all said ‘what the hell is that?’”
At first Jason believed the tope was an albino, but he has since learned otherwise.
“With albino fish the eyes tend to be reddish, but this shark’s eyes were completely black,” he said.
“People I’ve talked to say it’s leucistic, a condition that causes the skin to lose pigmentation. I’ve fished all my life and never caught anything like it!”
Jason Gillespie with his very rare white top
UK coastal waters a big game paradise!
Britain’s growing reputation for big-game fishing has been further enhanced by the capture of an incredibly rare 300lb-plus thresher shark.
Skipper Andrew Alsop brought the 12ft-long specimen alongside his boat to cap off what he said was his best-ever summer season out of Milford Haven, West Wales.
Andrew was taking Alex and Rhia Hawkins out on his boat White Water and was handed the rod shortly after it took a whole sardine.
He said:
“I saw the line rising through the water and thought the fish was going to jump so, knowing how important it could be, Alex passed me the rod and we saw this thresher clear the water.
“I knew we were dealing with a very big fish and after about 45 minutes we got it alongside the boat. It was definitely over 300lb, maybe nearer the 350lb mark.
“Threshers are very rare in UK waters, and this is the first one to my boat in my 20-year career,” he added.
Threshers are very rare in UK waters
Andrew’s charter business has now caught the ‘big five’ out of Milford Haven – mako, thresher, blue and porbeagle sharks, plus bluefin tuna.
“It’s been my best season ever. We’ve had blue sharks to 256lb, tuna over 600lb, porbeagle over 300lb and now this thresher, which has been the final piece in the jigsaw.”
Andrew Alsop and a porbeagle shark
A happy customer with another big shark
Andrew said big-game fishing in UK waters is booming, with many experienced sea anglers realising they don’t have to travel the world for top sport.
He said:
“Milford is the jewel in the crown for shark fishing in the British Isles and it’s getting better as we know our ground better.
“And even though you’re not allowed to target them, even with catch-and-release, we’re getting some of the biggest tuna in the world – perhaps only behind Canada.
“There are now so many of them in these waters that I reckon it won’t be long before we are allowed to go for them as a catch-and-release species, like you can in Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Portugal and Spain.”
Andrew Alsop and a 520lb tuna from UK waters
£1 million fish washes up on south coast
AN ATLANTIC bluefin tuna weighing almost 400lb has been found washed up on the shores of Chichester Harbour on the south coast of England.
At nearly 2m long, the rare specimen was discovered after reports reached local authorities of a large dead fish at the Thorney Island Sailing Club.
Highly-prized for their meat, Atlantic bluefin can sell for eye-watering sums in the Far East. A fish weighing 276kg recently sold for close to £1.4million, meaning the Chichester fish could fetch not far off £1 million in the same market.
There were no signs of damage on the tuna, and chief officer for the Sussex Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority, Tim Dapling, believes it may have died while hunting.
“It’s the first time we’ve seen one up close in this region, and although it’s only one fish, I’d be surprised if there aren’t more in Sussex waters,” he said.
Inshore and Fisheries Conservation Officer Nick Rogers with a tuna
Shark over 8ft long the best birthday gift - Harry Pardoe
“My dad and I booked a trip to Falmouth in the hope of catching a shark over 50lb to celebrate my 30th birthday.
“We headed out with Andy Howell, who owns the Anglo Dawn charter boat, in a confident mood, and started by putting down a chum trail to attract the sharks, and within an hour there were two giants circling the boat. Eventually one took the bait, and it felt very heavy from the word go!
“It took an hour to beat the fish but it was more than worth all the effort. It measured 8ft 8in long, with a girth of 3ft 8in, which meant an estimated weight of 251lb.
“The day got even better when my dad got stuck into a giant of his own that was also over 8ft long and estimated at 180lb.
“Over two days of fishing we banked 15 blue sharks. It was an absolutely incredible trip!”
Harry Pardoe and his Dad with the 250lb-plus blue shark
Mysterious shark species boated
A SEA angler who set himself the target of becoming the first man to catch a swordfish in the British Isles had a rather different surprise this week when he hooked a true monster of the deep.
Fishing 100-miles off Baltimore, Ireland, Mike Sherwood and friends were stunned when they pulled up several bizarre-looking creatures, later identified as leafscale gulper sharks.
It’s believed this could be the first time the deep-water dogfish species has been recreationally caught on rod and line. Their strange appearance and eye colour aside, perhaps just as astonishing were the depths the fish were caught from.
Mike said:
“We caught them between 1,600ft and 2,400ft down. With 11lb of lead required to get the rig down, a bait change would take over an hour. We had no idea what species it was when we first got one to the surface, but a bit of research online soon provided the answer.”
To check out the charter boat Mike was fishing from visit: www.mckiesfishingcharters.co.uk
Mike Sherwood with his leafscale gulper shark
100lb-plus Porbeagle fights for over an hour!
THRILL-seeking angler Simon Davidson wished he’d had a bigger boat during his latest trip after battling this estimated 140lb porbeagle for more than an hour.
The 38-year-old from Kettering, Northants, was aboard Broadside Charters off the Welsh coast when the immense predator snatched his freelined mackerel just feet from the vessel.
“After a short run I felt I was in control but then it surfaced, woke up and stripped hundreds of yards off my reel!” says Simon.
“My heart was racing. It felt like I was pulling the boat towards the shark rather than bringing the shark towards the boat – it was so powerful.”
After 30 minutes, during which time the shark hugged the bottom in 400ft of water, Simon reeled it to the surface only for it to dive back down again…
“I wanted a breather, but the crew encouraged me not to give up. Half-an-hour later I got it back to the boat, the captain grabbed the leader and it was mine.
The porbeagle, which can grow to over 500lb in UK waters, was the first Simon had ever caught and his first fish over the 100lb barrier. It was released to fight another day.
Sea anglers to have their say!
GOVERNMENT researchers are calling on sea anglers to take part in a data-collecting initiative aimed at improving the sustainable management of marine stocks around Britain’s shores and demonstrating the value of sea angling to the UK economy.
The Sea Angling Diary Project, a collaboration between the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) and research company Substance, is gathering information from saltwater fishing fans on their level of participation, expenditure and catch rates using an interactive survey.
Figures from previous surveys showed that on average across 2016 and 2017 sea fishermen spent over £1,000 per year on their hobby – generating between £1.5 and £2 billion for the economy.
The project’s leader Kieran Hyder said:
“This survey provides invaluable information to support the development of sea angling and ensures that the needs of sea anglers are taken into account.”
Anglers who sign up to the project will receive a free mobile app, a fish ID booklet and access to an online dashboard to record their activity.
For more information visit: www.seaangling.org
Sea fishing has massive economic benefits for the UK
The record bass that almost was!
WHEN charter skipper Lee Hall took a customer out for a spot of cod fishing he had no idea he was about to battle a colossal bass weighing 20lb on the nose!
The Black Rock Charter owner’s unbelievable catch pipped the previous British bass best of 19lb 9oz 2dr, but due to current UK regulations for the species Lee’s effort had to be returned alive – meaning a record couldn’t be claimed.
He didn’t let it dampen his spirits though.
“My late father taught me how to fish for bass and he was so happy when I caught my previous PB of 12lb 2oz,” he told us. “I’m pleased knowing he will be up there celebrating this once-in-a-lifetime catch.”
Lee’s 20-pounder took a cuttlefish deadbait from a mark off The Needles.