Two media outlets ran giant tuna stories on Saturday. DR took the dry option and Ekstra Bladet went all-out wet and wild, and for once you’d be inclined to agree with the tabloid’s sensationalism.
On September 19, two fishermen netted a near 450 kg, 303 cm-long blue-finned tuna, but the headline of DR’s story read: “After 50 year of absence: The blue-finned tuna is back in Danish waters.”
It was 400 kilos! That’s a good day at work for Pablo Escobar: larger than a tiger or fully 4,000 cans if you like.
READ MORE: Danish waters getting fishier
Simply sensational
“Sensational catch of more than 400 kg,” EB screamed, adding just in case there was any doubt: “Got a ‘giant-fish’ on the hook.”
Two anglers took 68 minutes to haul in the 450 kg beast in heavy seas on a line that at one point stretched out 500 metres, according to the angling magazine Fisk & Fri, which hailed the catch as a “fantastic achievement”.
The two anglers have decided to remain anonymous as it is illegal to catch the fish in Danish waters, even though one hadn’t been sighted since the 1960s until recently.
Back in the 1950s, when they were plentiful, the record catch stood at 372 kg.
On a par with the return of Christ
Kim Aarestrup from DTU Aqua has hailed the return as a miracle.
“At the risk of drawing the ire of the church,” he told DR. “But this is right up there with the resurrection of Christ.”
And now, since their miraculous return to waters such as the Skagerrak and Kattegat, it is hoped by many in the shipping industry that it will become legal to catch them again.
