Small fishing villages in Cornwall could see their livelihoods turned around thanks to a change in quotas post-Brexit.
Bluefin tuna, which can measure three feet in length and sell for an eye-watering £3,000, is back on the menu.
In 2021, bluefin tuna numbers were changed from “endangered” to “least concern”, reflecting the improving state of the stock in British waters.
the species is newly returned and stocks have been increasing in recent years, with researchers and the Government closely monitoring levels.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is leading the UK through Brexit BritainPAIt means that they can once again be fished by locals in Cornwall, where the species has been started to return to on a trial basis.
A change in how fishing licences are handed out post-Brexit means that it is UK fisheries benefitting most from the trial.
In November 2023, 10 temporary fishing licences were granted to fisherman in Cornwall as part of the CHART programme.
In the first year, fisherman caught 700 tuna, and in the second year over 1,000 tuna.
Bruce Rennie was the first person to buy a Bluefin Tuna for his restaurant in Penzance
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Speaking to GB News, Penzance restaurant owner Bruce Rennie was the first person to buy a Bluefin Tuna to serve in his establishment.
Rennie told GB News: "It's got a really nice layer of fat and actually distributed throughout the fish as well. The actual protein there is a nice layer of fat, so it's got like a marbling to it, a bit like a really good cut of beef.
"And what that means is that if you serve it at the right temperature the right way, it's it's really rich and buttery. So the fish itself is much more akin to like a Wagyu style beef."
Following the success of the trial licenses, campaigners are now attempting to protect the waters from overfishing.
Charles Clover of the Blue Marine Foundation said the success of the Bluefin Tuna licenses are a "sign of hope", but the licences have now been stopped by the government to review the numbers.
Clover told GB News: "Bluefin is a sign of hope and it's in great contrast because it's so well managed to many other stocks around our shores and the cod and the Pollock in the Channel,
"They have all been harvested well above scientific advice, and we Blue Marine Foundation are actually having to take the government to court to try and stop them doing this.
"So the bluefin stands in great contrast and is a wonderful story of hope. But how well we could run our seas if we only choose to."
