HUGE BLUEFISH TUNA LANDED IN WESTERN ISLES

Huge bluefish tuna landed in Western Isles. Harris fisherman, Angus Campbell, has landed the first bluefish tuna in Scotland this year – and it’s a beauty, weighing in at 353 kilogrammes., reports the Stornoway Gazette.

According to Grant Fulton, the Harris-based fisheries consultant, it is also the biggest landed in the UK in the current season. He praised Angus Campbell’s “sheer persistence” in opening up the tuna fishery.

Angus holds only one of 15 licences in the UK to catch bluefish tuna commercially, allowing him to land three tonnes of quota. For the first time, it allows landings at Leverburgh rather than being restricted to Stornoway.

Landing into Leverburgh opens up fishing to the west of the Hebrides where the tuna are of higher quality, making them more marketable to top outlets within the UK and as far away as Japan.

It was the first tuna landed in Scotland this year

In August, six Western Isles vessels and one from Gairloch were licensed by Marine Scotland to participate this season in a Blue Fish Tuna catch, tag and release project, opening up potential for the tourism industry as well as local anglers. These are also seen as another step towards a commercial tuna fishery in the islands.

Photo by Ray Harrington on Unsplash

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