It is 90 years since the last tuna fish was caught in the seas off Whitby, and now the fishing port has seen two landed in as many days.
On Sunday, Clive Easton landed a Bluefin tuna weighing in at some 740lbs and on Monday he caught another, tipping the scales at 705lbs and 1.75 metres long.
Clive is one of just 30 fishermen across the UK with authorisation from Defra allowing him to commercially fish for Bluefin tuna for the season.
The species has usually been caught in southern waters but now, as well as it being a milestone in Whitby’s long fishing story, it is hoped it will be a boost to the local fishing industry – which despite struggling over the last 20 years, has enjoyed a resurgence through shell-fishing recently.
Clive, skipper of Dominator-A, said he has been going out to sea and hoping to catch tuna for the last week or so, following the opening of the authorised fishing period last month.
He told The Anchor: “We have been expecting them and waiting for them to come in. They are big fish and it took some pulling in, you can’t do it yourself, they are bigger than I am that is for sure. There was a buzz when we brought the first one in on Sunday. We have been trying for a week and I am glad to have got one.
“It is the food source that has brought the tuna back and allowed them to grow bigger and that is the top and bottom of it. The herring has come back and there is more food for them, they can eat as much as they want.”
Sunday’s landing is thought to be the first Bluefin for Whitby since before the Second World War, with the record for the biggest Bluefin tuna caught in UK waters also belonging to Whitby.
In 1933, Lorenzo Mitchell-Henry landed a Bluefin weighing in at 386kg (850lbs) and measuring almost 2.75m long.
Both tuna were set to be sold to a merchant who had travelled up to Whitby from the south to view the fish. Now, Clive hopes a market for tuna can be developed in Whitby if local merchants and restaurants can make it work.
Prices for Bluefin vary but can bring as much as £25 per kg so Sunday’s catch could be worth £8,450. By the time the fish has been sold to restaurants it could be worth £25,000.
He added: “I have been a fisherman a long time and used to catch salmon and cod and all sorts years ago. All that has gone now and I catch lobster and shellfish, so was glad to get this.
“Defra has given us a licence to catch them, and if they hadn’t given us a chance, the tuna would have been there but only the south would have been able to catch them.”
The tuna catch could provide a financial boost for Whitby’s boats, but it is also a good sign of varied marine life in the North Sea.
Joe Redfern from Whitby Lobster Hatchery is also a marine biologist.
He said the practice of over-fishing herring stopped in the 1960s and while that population has recovered over time, it will have taken the tuna a few more years to return to the North Sea food source.
Joe said: “It is great and shows that things can recover if you treat them in the right way. If we don’t overfish and do it in a sustainable way – that is key. If everyone got a licence, the tuna would go. But we are not fishing mackerel and herring here so that is a good start.
“It is good for the fishing fleet and it is exciting. Whitby has had a long history with tuna fishing.”
In the 1930s, tuna fishing on the Yorkshire Coast was enjoying a hey day with people travelling from all over the country, and farther afield, to come and fish for tuna in Whitby waters.
It declined from the 1950s, however, as tuna as well as its food source was over-fished. Some statistics say herring stocks in the North Sea declined by as much as 95 per cent from the mid 1960s.
The UK has an annual quota of 230 tonnes for Bluefin tuna from 2026 to2028 with 120 tonnes of quota used for the commercial fishery this year.
The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) and Defra has agreed authorisations to fish for Bluefin to around 30 commercial vessels, each with an allocation of four tonnes of quota.
One of these 30 vessels is Dominator-A, which Clive has fished from since the 1980s. He had to meet set criteria in order to be granted the licence.
He had to have a valid UK commercial fishing licence, have a vessel of 12 metres and under in overall length, agree to limit each fishing trip targeting Bluefin tuna to no more than 24 hours, agree to use rod and reel fishing gears only and to record all catches and landings.
