The Wildlife Trusts’ annual round-up of life in UK seas presents the highs and lows for 2023, including bait ball feeding frenzies and increased sightings of Atlantic bluefin tuna alongside the devastating impact of avian flu on seabirds. Dr Lissa Batey, head of marine conservation at The Wildlife Trusts, said: “2023 has been a historic […]
Recreational anglers will have broader access to a catch-and-release Atlantic bluefin tuna fishery in English waters, the UK government has announced. Responding to overwhelming support for proposals in a consultation, Defra has confirmed that it will introduce legislation in the spring to establish permitting regimes for the recreational targeting of bluefin tuna. This will mean […]
Marine environmentalists have reacted with concern at news the UK will allow commercial fishing of bluefin tuna for the first time in 60 years. The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) have announced that 10 licences would be issued for a small-scale trial of commercial fishing, with the tuna brought ashore for consumption, […]
Defra has released six Fisheries Management Plans for consultation alongside a raft of other measures. In its press release Defra said that ‘the UK is introducing a world class system of fisheries management. This draws on the best available science and the expertise of our fishermen to ensure our fish stocks are healthy and sustainable long […]
Defra have announced in a policy paper that the UK will trial new small-scale commercial Bluefin tuna fishery. For 2023 the UK has 65 tonnes of bluefin tuna quota, an increase on the quota in 2021 and 2022. The UK will use 39 tonnes of this quota to trial a new small-scale commercial fishery, which […]
In a new global study, experts use the iconic predatory tunas, billfishes and sharks as sentinels of ocean health to support the development of long-term and robust indicators for addressing sustainability and biodiversity loss in oceanic ecosystems. The AZTI technology centre, in collaboration with Simon Fraser University (SFU) and the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF), has developed this new […]
A giant 900lb (408kg) tuna believed to be the biggest fish ever caught in Welsh waters has been landed by an angler. Simon Batey and friend Jason Nott caught the Atlantic bluefin tuna off the Pembrokeshire coast. The huge 9ft (2.82m) fish was caught, measured and then released. Campaigners said Welsh waters now […]
Bluefin tuna have been tagged with state-of-the-art acoustic tracking tags for the first time in UK waters. The huge fish, which in UK waters can be up to 2.5 m long, are commercially valuable and biologically fascinating. The 7cm long tags send individually coded sound (acoustic) messages to listening stations moored on the seabed, allowing […]