THE ULTIMATE ANGLING BUCKET LIST

second was a fish with the leader out of the water and the fish in view lost due to fraying of the reel
line, and the third, a fish of around 300 pounds, was successfully brought back to shore. Two days later
he caught and released a further two tuna at the boat.
Whether Alastair should have killed that fish at the boat is another matter. I know he took some stick
for doing so, not knowing that the species is now heavily regulated, though not totally protected, and as
such he regrets killing it, hence the two further releases at the boat. But in terms of pure angling – what
a feat, to target, hook up then land a fish of that size alone in a small trailed boat.
Associated audio interview numbers: 14 and 124.
BIG EYED TUNA Thunnus obesus
Bucket List status – no result yet
Due to its very close likeness to the yellow fin tuna, the big
eyed tuna is a difficult fish to positively identify. This can
be achieved in one of two ways. Internally, the livers of the
two fish differ in that in the big eyed it is serrated, whereas
with the yellow fin it is smooth edged.
Gill raker counts on the first gill arch also differ, with
eighteen to twenty two for the big eyed, and twenty seven
to thirty three in the yellow fin. Understandably, in both
instances, not something most anglers would want to get
involved in reliably checking out I'm sure.
Externally however there are also small differences, though
mainly of a comparative nature, which really needs both
species to be present to feel confident about drawing
conclusions from. So not much help there either, but let's do
it anyway.
Alan Pasco, Big Eyed Tuna 66.12.0
The two dorsal fins of the big eyed are shorter and closer
together than in the yellow fin, with thirteen or fourteen
spines in the first and fourteen to sixteen in the second.
Colouration is a deep metallic blue on the back becoming
white on the lower sides and belly, with the anal and
second dorsal fins being a pale yellow, and the finlets
between those two fins and the tail being bright yellow and
edged in black.
On the plus side, yellow fin tuna have yet to be officially caught on rod and line around the British Isles,
and with only the one big eyed reported thus far, I don't think any of the potential pitfalls regarding
identification are going to be much of an angling issue. Besides, if one or other does end up on the end
of a line, it will very likely be coming ashore anyway, so professional advice could easily be sought and
would under the circumstances I'm sure be willingly given.
A tropical and sub tropical fish with a liking for foraging at great depth, hence the size of the eye, where
water temperatures drop considerably, which the big eyed can handle on account of its ability to regulate
its body core temperature within certain parameters. Grows to around five hundred pounds, and a
species inclusion here with a bit of an unusual story behind it.
198