A BUTE couple were left gobsmacked after they filmed a huge tuna fish which swam up to their boat as they sailed the Kyles of Bute.
The remarkable sighting was caught on camera by John and Calyn Stirling, who couldn’t believe that the eight foot long fish, commonly associated with tropical and subtropical oceans, was swimming in local waters.
John explained: “We were in the west Kyles of Bute on Saturday around noon, sailing along at about three knots when my wife thought she’d seen a shark, I didn’t see it and assumed it was a basking shark which would have been more common.
“Then it came to the surface at the stern of the boat and I initially thought it was a shark but when it turned away I could see the bright yellow spikes running along the tail, top and bottom, I realised it was a Tuna, about eight feet long, but could not believe it was there.”
In August of last year tuna fish were filmed jumping in Loch Fyne and sightings, particularly of bluefin tuna and bonito tuna, have become more frequent in Scottish waters, due to warming sea temperatures.
John said: “I didn’t think these fish came to inland waters, never mind this far north, it came and went for about 10 minutes until the wind died and the boat started drifting. I’d never heard of any fisherman’s tales of tuna being here although I’ve now heard of a couple of maybe sightings from a distance, we felt very privileged to have seen this huge fish so close and personal, hopefully we’ll see more in the future.”
Fishing for bluefin tuna is heavily regulated in the UK, with specific rules for commercial fisheries and trials.
