U.K. Sea Fishing FAQ   -   Pysgota Mor y Deyrnas Gyfunol

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Unusual Sea Fish Catches and Sightings

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  4.5 Unusual Catches & Sightings
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    A database which is run by provides a focal point for records of rare
    fish in UK waters, and a source of datae on changing distribution
    patterns.

             Dr Geoff Potts and Silwa Swaby
             Marine Biological Association
             Citadel Hill
             Plymouth
             PL12BR                Tel 01752 222772

    CONGER - A 210lb conger was landed by a commercial boat at Falmouth,
             Cornwall in 1990

    FLOUNDER - A 7lb 2oz flounder was caught in a gill net at Aberdovey,
               Gwynedd in 1983.

    HAMMERhead - A hammerhead shark 13.5 feet long was caught commercially
                 at lfracombe, Devon in 1865.

    PLAICE - Dave Stevens  reports - a 20lb
             plaice was landed by a commercial boat off Hastings in 1994.

    SAILFISH - A 7.5 foot sailfish was stranded at Yealm Estuary, Devon in
               1928.  This the the only recorded sailfish in North European
               waters.

    SIX-GILLED SHARK - A 26 foot six-gill landed in Polperro, Cornwall in
                       1846.

    SWORDFISH - A 130lb swordfish was caught in a salmon net in Bantry Bay
                in 1950. The fish was 8.5 feet long.
              - A Broadbill was sighted jumping off Clovelly, N. Devon by a
                yactsman in April 1995.

    THRESHER - A 500lb thresher was caught by a Yarmouth boat in summer
               1869.  The fish was 14 feet long.

               Matthew Lear  writes -
               I was fishing at Hopes Nose in Torbay, South Devon during the
               summer of '91 for mullet . A fisherman came over the rocks
               and started lobbing out a six ounce weight with a string of
               feathers using a beachcaster. He was pulling in mackeral for
               half an hour, which had spooked any mullet that I hoped to
               catch. On one of his casts he complained of catching in some
               rocks, which wasn't possible as the spot he was fishing was
               shale and sand. Then about sixty yards out a young thresher
               Shark leapt from the water with a string of feathers
               dangeling from his mouth. The line promptly broke as the fish
               entered the water and the man was left there with a rather
               shocked face, I would have estimated the fish at between
               sixty and eighty pounds.

Jun 9 1998, 12:00 am

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