Many of us are now aware of the incredible resurgence of bluefin tuna populations in the UK after decades of absence. However, smaller species of tuna, like the albacore, remain less prolific. One species rarely seen in the UK—and unknown to many experts here is the skipjack tuna, which typically inhabits warmer seas like the Caribbean and is often found canned in supermarkets.
While digging for bait along the Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall, Mark Griffiths noticed significant splashing in the shallow water as he followed the tide out. Approaching the commotion, he realised it was a tuna that had become trapped by the falling tide and subsequently exhausted itself. Only after seeking identification did he realise just how rare his find was, as there are very few/ if any reports of a skipjack tuna ever being found in the UK.
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"We were out digging lug as normal for our own fishing when we noticed a lot of disturbance ahead of us, curiosity got the better of us so we had to head over to have a look," Mark told us.
"When we reached the area, we realised a fairly large tuna had beached itself, the tide falls quite quickly here and it had obviously got trapped," he explained.
"The fish unfortunately died so we took some photos to get try and get an ID on the fish, we weren't sure if it was a bonito or a juvenile bluefin."
Upon identifying the fish as a skipjack tuna, we felt it necessary to verify this, as we at Angling Times were uncertain, especially given how rare this species is in the UK. To gain further insight, we consulted Steven Murphy of the UK Bluefin Tuna Association for his analysis..
"It is indeed a skipjack tuna, although not totally unknown in UK waters, Atlantic skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis) are one of the less common tuna appearing in UK waters in the last decade," Steve informed us.
"Atlantic Bluefin are abundant each summer/autumn, (over 3,000 captures this year so far in the English licensed recreational fishery), Albacore are caught each year, (on occasion by targeted efforts far off the SW), and Atlantic Bonito are a fairly regular summer catch for sea anglers in the SW."
"This is another example of the major change of species distribution in the UK’s Western waters seen over the last 10 years," Steve added.
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