515lb fluefin tuna caught off the coast of Scotland

Written by:
Hans Kruit, 29 September 2013

A monster tuna fish has been caught off the coast of Scotland and took a whole crew of fishermen to reel it in.
Skipper Angus Campbell and his crew, Chris Gunn and James Morrison, were left exhausted as they battled for an hour to land the nine-foot fish.
After hooking the 515lb tuna ten miles west of Leverburgh, the trio had to take it in turns to try and pull it aboard, leaving their equipment badly damaged.

The mammoth catch came after a three week fishing expedition around the coast of the Outer Hebrides.
They had also landed another tuna which weight in at around 400lbs, but let it go.

Mr Campbell said: `They were exhausted by the end of it - the rod was bent double. I’ve known for years they were there and today we finally proved it.
`We had a smaller one but let it go. I am planning to try and catch more. We will be going back but keeping the location secret.`

The crew of Kilda Cruises now plan to chop up the tuna and share it out amongst their friends.
Mr Campbell adds: `We are not allowed to sell this tuna so we will cut it up and give it to friends. We already have had plenty of offers.

`We are trying to market fishing trips so this has helped top that. We used a special lure to catch the tuna - it obviously works.`
Atlantic Bluefin tuna are torpedo shaped and their streamlined bodies can travel up to 43 miles per hour. Experts have warned that they could become more common than cod in the waters around Scotland because of rising temperatures.
Bluefin tuna can exceed 990lbs and are highly prized on the Japanese sushi market.