World’s most expensive fish washed up dead in UK – and it’s good news | Tech News

The 9ft-long Atlantic large bluefin tuna was discovered at Kimmeridge off the Dorset coast.

But conservationists say the sad sight could be indicating the species is making a comeback to UK waters.

Dorset Wildlife Trust said the apex predators had disappeared from UK seas since the 1960s despite having been ‘abundant here at one time’.

But they recently started to make a return to the English Channel.

In 2019, a Japanese sushi tycoon paid $3.1 million (£2.5m) for a colossal bluefin tuna weighing 612 pounds – making it the world’s most expensive tuna.

‘This is a magnificent species, one of the largest and fastest fish in the world,’ said the charity’s marine awareness officer Julie Hatcher.

‘The fact this predator is back in our waters indicates a healthier marine environment and also creates a true wildlife spectacle that has been missing from our coastal waters for far too long.’

Discussing the reasons for the species disappearance, Ms Hatcher, a marine biologist, said: ‘These are thought to include environmental changes – for example changes in their prey species distribution due to warming seas – overfishing of their prey species –such as herring, mackerel and other pelagic fish – and direct targeting of this species.’

According to Ms Hatcher, the species are seen regularly in the seas around the Southwest of England and up the west coast in Wales and Scotland in the summer and autumn months.

She added: ‘When bluefin tuna are feeding on a bait-ball of fish alongside dolphins and diving seabirds, the sea appears to “boil” with all the activity at the surface.

‘However we shouldn’t be complacent as the threats that caused its long absence previously are still threats today.’

Bluefin are one of the largest species of tuna and can live up to 40 years.

Currently, it is illegal to fish tuna in the UK, either commercially or recreationally, unless part of a small scientific trial.

The World Wildlife Fund says tuna are the ‘Ferrari of the ocean’ because they are sleek, powerful, and made for speed.

There are several tuna species, but bluefin are the largest. They can reach 10ft in length and weigh as much as 1,500lbs, more than a horse, and can swim up to 43 miles per hour across long distances.

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