Giant bluefin tuna landed off North Yorkshire coast for first time in decades
A giant bluefin tuna has been landed off the North Yorkshire coast for the first time in decades, in what is being described as a sign that conservation works.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
A giant bluefin tuna has been landed off the North Yorkshire coast for the first time in decades. The catch was made by a licensed crew and brought to shore a few weeks ago. It is being treated as evidence that conservation can bring back species that had largely disappeared from British waters.
The area was once a major destination for big-game fishing. Around 100 years ago, wealthy visitors travelled to Scarborough and Whitby to hunt tuna. Archive film from the 1930s shows the pursuit. In the 1920s, herring fleets moved down the east coast and fishermen noticed large fish following the herring. The tuna were not caught for food. They were pursued for sport and for the prestige of landing the biggest fish. Wealthy fishermen arrived on large steam yachts, then launched smaller boats to make their catches.
Harbours displayed the catches as records were broken and disputed. One fish beat the previous record by a pound, but the result was annulled after complaints that the wet, thick rope used to hold it had added to its weight. A display linked to the period includes a rod made from split cane, designed by the American writer and fisherman Zane Grey. Its owner, William Walter Dowding, was said to hunt in Africa during the British winter. Fishing was seen as a sport, and Scarborough and Whitby were ideal because North Sea food stocks supported large tuna and the resorts could handle visitors.
Scarborough even had its own club, which is now a fish and chip shop but keeps reminders of its past on the walls. Members included colonels and people linked to the Rothschild family. Hollywood stars including John Wayne, David Niven and Errol Flynn were rumoured to have visited. A 1933 account described the club as the 19th hole of a golf course for tuna fishermen, a place to relax after a day's fishing and talk about the big ones that got away.
Overfishing in UK waters and across Europe is thought to have caused the tuna's decline. The last tuna were landed around 60 years ago. Sustainable fishing practices are now credited, in part, with their return. Observers say the bluefin tuna appearing off the north coast of the UK, and off Yorkshire in particular, are probably a sign that conservation works. They describe the fish's return as good news.
Bluefin tuna have been admired for their size and strength for almost a century. The latest catch has raised fresh interest in why the huge fish have made the Yorkshire coast their home again.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | BBC One |
|---|---|
| A giant bluefin tuna was caught by a licensed crew and landed off the North Yorkshire coast recently, the first such landing in decades. | |
| Bluefin tuna have returned to the Yorkshire coast, which may indicate that conservation measures are working. |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
BBC ONE West treated the story as a positive local history feature. It led on the first landing in decades, then spent most of the segment on Scarborough and Whitby's 1920s and 1930s big-game fishing heyday, archive film, records and celebrity visitors. The conservation angle was present but secondary to the nostalgia and colour.
- “Now, for the first time in decades, a huge tuna has been landed off the North Yorkshire coast.”
- “The bluefin tuna that we're now seeing off the north coast of the UK, off the Yorkshire coast in particular, are probably a sign that conservation works.”
- “It's a really good news story to have these amazing fish back in our waters.”
Broadcast Timeline
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