Recent years have seen bluefin tuna return to British waters in significant numbers. The reason for this is not currently known but may be due to rising sea temperatures and a phenomenon known as the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO). This is a naturally occurring process where the sea temperature rises and then falls over a period of sixty to one hundred years. It may be the case that a return to a positive AMO is warming sea temperatures and allowing tuna to return.
The Times newspaper has reported that there were over five hundred sightings of tuna in British waters from 2013 to 2018, with a number of tuna reaching the same sizes as those caught in the peak years of the North Sea big game fishing era of the 1920s and 1930s. These tuna have been found all around the UK and have included a 770lbs tuna caught by a commercial fishing vessel off the coast of Devon, a 500lb tuna caught by a boat angler off the Welsh coast, a 600lb tuna found trapped in a fish pen in a Scottish fish farm and a 900lb tuna caught off the coast of Wales.
Potential Return of Big Game Tuna Fishing to the UK
With such large tuna back in British waters there have been calls for a recreational tuna fishery to be re-established in British waters. The Angling Trust (the representative body for anglers in the UK) have proposed a licenced catch-and-release sport fishery for tuna around the UK, saying that the return of bluefin tuna to UK waters represents a “one-in-a-generation” opportunity for such a fishery to be re-created.
An article in the i newspaper stated that a successful tuna fishery could be established in Cornwall or Wales. Tuna caught by this fishery (which would be released alive) would be worth £25,000 to £30,000 per tuna, when the economic value of tourism, charter boat fees, fishing tackle hire and hotel accommodation was factored in. This compares to £3,000 per tuna caught and killed by commercial fishermen. The Angling Trust state that anglers could also help with research into the distribution and movement of bluefin tuna in UK waters by tagging tuna which they catch and then release, and that establishing such a fishery, rather than allowing commercial fishermen to catch the tuna “represents the best way of ensuring a future that works best for the fish, the science, and the local communities.”
However, there are a number of major issues which would need to be overcome before any kind of recreational tuna fishery could ever become a reality. The first issue is the conservation status of bluefin tuna. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature class bluefin tuna as Near Threatened in European waters. This means that many conservation groups such as Greenpeace are steadfastly opposed to any kind of fishery for tuna, and draw little distinction between a low-impact, catch-and-release recreational tuna fishery and a highly efficient commercial fishing industry which seeks to catch and sell tuna for profit. Any recreational tuna fishery in British waters would need to be negotiated with ICCAT (the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, as well as the EU, with the seven EU nations which have a quota to catch tuna highly likely to object.
Related article: Tuna, Conservation and ICCAT
Despite this, there is certainly political support for recreational tuna fishing in UK waters to be re-established. The Angling Trust and Bluefin Tuna UK launched a campaign at Westminster to promote a UK sport fishery for bluefin tuna and were supported by MPs such as North Cornwall’s Scott Mann. Mr Mann said: “It would be a massive boost to our coastal communities if the government was to take up these proposals and allow local anglers to enjoy world class catch and release big game fishing right on our doorsteps.” In 2020 consultation began on charter boats joining a scheme to catch, tag and release bluefin tuna which they caught in order to allow scientists to build up a better understanding of the species presence and movements in British waters. Given the acronym CHART (CatcH And Release Tagging), this scheme ran between August and December 2022 and allowed anglers fishing on board the twenty-five charter boats which participated in the scheme to legally catch bluefin tuna in British waters. In October 2022 anglers participating in this scheme caught a 900lb tuna caught off the coast of Wales.
Only anglers who are properly licenced through the scheme can target tuna. Anglers who inadvertently catch tuna when fishing for other species must be aware that the rules governing tuna which are accidentally caught are very strict. Tuna should not be brought on board a boat, even for a photograph before being released. Instead, they should be unhooked while still in the water and released as quickly as possible.
The prospect of a recreational catch-and-release tuna fishery, like the one which existed in the 1920s and 1930s, being re-established in British waters, therefore, remains a possibility, but there will be much more debate and discussion before anglers will once again be able to catch bluefin tuna in British waters.
Note: This article was written in late 2022. Any changes which have taken place since that date will not be reflected above.