Bluefin tuna could find haven in UK waters
WHEN surfers in Cornwall saw a huge, iridescent bluefin tuna rising from the water almost in touching distance, they screamed with delight.
The sight is becoming more common in British waters due to climate change, conservationists say – and they want the endangered fish to be protected.
EU countries which have a bluefin tuna quota, including Spain and France, can hunt the fish in British waters due to a loophole: when the rules were created, the fish so rarely ventured this far north that there was no point making our seas exempt. British fishermen are not allowed to catch and sell them.
Now, there are calls to make our waters a sanctuary for the “tigers of the sea”, which are fished everywhere they swim due to the high price of tuna flesh. One large bluefin can sell at auction for over £1 million – but the stunning predator is at risk of extinction.
Senior government sources told The Daily Telegraph that they “absolutely love” this idea for post-brexit Britain.
Megan Hemsworth, a surfer who took an amazing shot of the fish, said she originally thought it was a big dolphin, adding: “I was shooting on the land with a zoom lens, the tuna jumped out and all the girls surfing were just screaming with delight and taking it in, I got back on the camera and luckily it did jump again so I got the shot.”
The tuna have only recently come back to the UK after they disappeared 40 years ago due to overfishing. According to scientific reports, warmer waters from climate change have lured some back. In the Thirties, the species was a common sight in the seas off Scarborough. Now sightings off Cornwall have become more common and in the past
year, tourist boats have started taking people on tuna-watching expeditions.
This year also marked the first tuna sightings off parts of the Sussex coast. The Blue Planet Society, a conservation group, is pushing for tuna to be protected. John Hourston, founder of the group, said: “There’s a misconception they’re protected in UK waters because our fishermen don’t have quotas for them. But there are quotas for EU countries and if you have one you can wander into UK waters and catch them.”
Mr Hourston said this fish would have weighed up to 350lb. Bluefin tuna sell at markets for between £5 and £10 per lb, so it would be worth between £1,750 and £3,500.
He added: “This is like lions arriving suddenly; they’re back in British waters after a long absence and everyone’s clamouring to kill them.”
A government spokesman said: “We are aware of increasing sightings of this iconic species in UK waters and are giving full consideration to what measures are necessary to give them sufficient protection.”