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Bluefin Tuna, UK


chrisjpainter
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I have caught tuna in Irish waters.They are fairly common along the west coast from Aug onwards.

All catch,tag and release as there is no legal quota for keeping them.

Some boats had up to 9 in a day this season averaging around 300lb+ up to about 700lb (Estimated by length as not brought onboard). 

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36 minutes ago, gmm243 said:

I have caught tuna in Irish waters.They are fairly common along the west coast from Aug onwards.

All catch,tag and release as there is no legal quota for keeping them.

Some boats had up to 9 in a day this season averaging around 300lb+ up to about 700lb (Estimated by length as not brought onboard). 

Do you think the system works? I think the Bluefin Tuna UK is envisaging something similar for the UK waters, which would be great. I don't think I'd want a commercial fishing trade yet, as stock levels are still delicate, even though they're recovering. But I thought it was interesting how much more valuable a CT&R trade would be per fish compared to selling the fish on.

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I think it works to an extent.It is heavily policed and we often would see the fisheries staff out observing that everything is being done properly and legally.

The scheme also opens up big game fishing to a wider audience who may not have the chance or funds to go abroad for the same opportunities. I for one could not afford to go abroad for fishing but when spilt between some friends it is very manageable for our day on the water.That said it is not something I want to do more than once or twice a year whereas I could (and have done) trout fish everyday for a fortnight on the trot when the fly is up and fish are taking well.

It is a long day trolling and sometimes the fish do not take so it is a long day afloat although you are usually treated to close encounters with dolphins and whales.When you see the tuna feeding on the surface it is a very exciting sight.

The downside is that not far offshore there are long liners and trawlers who legally can catch these fish so that sort of makes a mockery of the rules allowing only catch and release.In saying that I am delighted to catch and release them,they are too impressive to kill.

I know this is a very long drawn out answer but I honestly do think that the fish are more valuable alive than dead and anyone who fishes for them is more than willing to release them safely.

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I have been on the Rosguill, out of Malin Head. The skipper is Michael McVeigh. He was one of the first people to catch a bluefin (in UK) on rod and line, many many years ago and held the UK record for many years (may even still hold it?)  He's a top bloke who has many good story's to tell! Although every other word is the F word! Literally!!

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13 hours ago, NatureBoy said:

I thought they were protected? You were not allowed to intentionally fish for them and the UK didn't have a quota for them?        NB

Yeah, that's the starting premise for the video. Ireland has a quota, so can fish for them, but the UK does not. The plan is to try and get a quota. They run through it all in the video. It's worth a watch, it's not specifically about tuna fishing as such. It's more about the tuna as a fish, why they're here now and what it means for the environment. Then they talk about what a tuna fishing industry could look like out of the UK, the value of it and importantly, the value of C&R compared to fishing for meat. Definitely worth a watch, as it's a great discussion on the subject.

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On 27/10/2020 at 12:34, JDog said:

Carl and Alex had a video out recently when one of them hooked what was said to be a Tuna. They never saw it and lost it after an hour of hard fighting.

Watched that yesterday, the best thing is I look out over the bay they were fishing. I might need to upgrade from my 9 foot spinning rod.

Read on the WSF forum a boke describing being able to watch them launching themselves out of the water while he fished ftom the shore. Fishlocker also has a good video on them.

 

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49 minutes ago, gmm243 said:

Ah so they're doing it almost exactly as I'd imagined/hoped? Can you not fish for them without accreditation/licensing? I like that because it stops amateurs being amateurish towards fish and fish care. It looks like a great system.

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No,you have to be licenced and have all insurances for carrying passengers and licenced/insured to work a certain distance off shore etc.It is very tightly regulated.I think the number of licences issued are very small in comparison to what was applied for.

 The fisheries gave the licenced skippers an iPad and when you catch a fish you tag it,photo it and release This is then automatically uploaded to the fisheries data base to they have an up to date record of what is caught and where.Hopefully the information will help maintain the population or provide knowledge of migrations routes etc but as I said before you do not have to travel far to be in international water where boats from other countries are catching them commercially and legally.

From chatting to other folk who have been out on another boats than the one we use all the skippers are very professional and the general feeling is that the c&r fishery is more popular than being allowed to kill the fish.A lot (the vast majority)of folk are much happier seeing the fish go back safely than to have it strung up at the back of the boat.

 

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  • 2 months later...
On 27/10/2020 at 20:09, gmm243 said:

I think it works to an extent.It is heavily policed and we often would see the fisheries staff out observing that everything is being done properly and legally.

The scheme also opens up big game fishing to a wider audience who may not have the chance or funds to go abroad for the same opportunities. I for one could not afford to go abroad for fishing but when spilt between some friends it is very manageable for our day on the water.That said it is not something I want to do more than once or twice a year whereas I could (and have done) trout fish everyday for a fortnight on the trot when the fly is up and fish are taking well.

It is a long day trolling and sometimes the fish do not take so it is a long day afloat although you are usually treated to close encounters with dolphins and whales.When you see the tuna feeding on the surface it is a very exciting sight.

The downside is that not far offshore there are long liners and trawlers who legally can catch these fish so that sort of makes a mockery of the rules allowing only catch and release.In saying that I am delighted to catch and release them,they are too impressive to kill.

I know this is a very long drawn out answer but I honestly do think that the fish are more valuable alive than dead and anyone who fishes for them is more than willing to release them safely.

yep doesn't make any sense bit like the bass fishing rules . fair few boats at it as well looking at the AIS off Ireland.

Edited by Remimax
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2 hours ago, Rim Fire said:

A guy called fishlocker on utube catches quite a few every year fishing for Porbeagle shark good size to them 

yeah his video of the two in a session is pretty awesome! John knows his stuff for sure and it was great to see how much care he took over release. my concern is that this wouldn't be the norm without serious regulation in place. I think the idea of anyone being able to fish for them is a pipe dream to be honest. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I've always wanted to catch a tuna. However I would prefer to catch something in the sub 50lb size range, something the size of an ABT is just a tug o war and then let it go. I wonder how much damage it does to them too. At least with a smaller fish and the correct tackle you can decide if it is likely to survive and either chap it or release it with minimal harm

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There are albacore off the coast of Ireland, my dad and brother caught them years ago off the Kerry coast but well off,I think they could have been 60 miles off.They have also been caught off the coast of Donegal so I would imagine there may well be other parts of the western coasts of the UK which may hold them.

These would be easier to deal with and caught on much lighter tackle giving a good scrap.I think they average about 30lb.

I am not 100%  sure but I think you can take them if you want (Someone might correct me).I have never fished for them only the Blue Fin.

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4 hours ago, henry d said:

I've always wanted to catch a tuna. However I would prefer to catch something in the sub 50lb size range, something the size of an ABT is just a tug o war and then let it go. I wonder how much damage it does to them too. At least with a smaller fish and the correct tackle you can decide if it is likely to survive and either chap it or release it with minimal harm

yeah, it's a serious concern And probably something only for the most skilled skippers. Have you watched The Fish Locker's video on catching ABT's? He takes an age to release it, driving it around with his boat to get water passing over the gills. It was an accidental catch (er...both of them - he was after porbeagles.) but he put every effort in to releasing then strong and healthy.

 

49 minutes ago, gmm243 said:

There are albacore off the coast of Ireland, my dad and brother caught them years ago off the Kerry coast but well off,I think they could have been 60 miles off.They have also been caught off the coast of Donegal so I would imagine there may well be other parts of the western coasts of the UK which may hold them.

These would be easier to deal with and caught on much lighter tackle giving a good scrap.I think they average about 30lb.

I am not 100%  sure but I think you can take them if you want (Someone might correct me).I have never fished for them only the Blue Fin.

I don't think the UK has any quota for any Tuna species, so they're all off the list in UK waters for any form of fishing

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52 minutes ago, chrisjpainter said:

. Have you watched The Fish Locker's video on catching ABT's? He takes an age to release it, driving it around with his boat to get water passing over the gills.

Yeah, and to some extent this was (part of) the reason I gave up salmon fishing. I was happy taking up to around 30lb of fish as that was enough for me to eat, and I would not fish beyond that even if I had just two fish. Then TSF decided that they would, in the best interests of the fish, ban certain styles of fishing, then require anglers to return iirc hens of a certain size, then this, then that. Not that I have a problem with helping save the species, but I could not go fishing and put back a large fish I doubted would survive as I had to fish with the fly in fast water and the fish fought to a stand still. I stopped fishing, no problems with others who were ok with the regulations, just me. Same as bass, I don't target them up here even though I know where they are, but there are only a small number.

Perhaps we should just leave well alone and see how they get on hammering the mackerel and herring stocks, perhaps this will help the cod recover and it becomes a win win situation?

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