Millions of American TV viewers have got hooked on tuna fishing in Scotland – even though the programme has had to include subtitles to understand the Outer Hebridean skipper star of the show!
Captain Angus Campbell is featured on the Outdoor Channel’s Trev Gowdy’s Monsterfish series. The channel is watched by more than 39 million viewers – something like one-in-three households with a TV in the USA.
For the newly-released programme, a sceptical American tuna fishing expert Fred Lavitman went to the Outer Hebrides to catch blue fin tuna – after hearing that Captain Campbell landed his first Scottish monster in 2013.
But during the 23-minute programme, subtitles are only inserted when islander Captain Campbell speaks.
“It worked out quite well. They contacted me to make the programme which is huge in America,” said Captain Campbell, 53.
“I’m not surprised they used subtitles. I did have a bit of a laugh about it. Anybody out of their own country they seem to need subtitles. But I didn’t mind. I was just myself.”
Captain Campbell, who runs Kilda Cruises, wants to help establish a tuna fishery of around 10 tonnes – or about 40 fish – for the UK.
“Fred had a great time and caught a real beauty. I think there are thousands that run off here,” said Captain Campbell, who lives on Harris.
“In fact this is not even the most northerly extent of where the tuna go to. There are reports of them now being caught in Iceland. They are following the feed – like mackerel, herring and sprats – and going as far as the water temperature allows them.”
Atlantic bluefins are warm-blooded, a rare trait among fish, and are comfortable in the cold waters off Newfoundland, as well as the tropical waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean Sea, where they go each year to spawn.
Captain Campbell, who has already sunk £20,000 into the tuna venture, says each fish would probably be worth about £10,000 each if he were allowed to keep a limited number.
“Europe has a quota of 18,000 tons so we are seeking a small quota in comparison and our commercial angling – if we are allowed to develop it – will be catch and release,” he said.
“The UK used to have a commercial tuna fishery way back based in Scarborough. In fact the first fish to be tinned in Britain was tuna.
“The tuna would be worth a lot more in Japan but it it is impracticable to access that market.
“Since the programme on the Outdoor Channel was aired only last week we have already had a lot of interest – including from Mexico.
“Fred taught us quite a bit while he was here. He also went and explored and filmed some of the sites like the Callanish Stones, Harris and St Kilda, which is great for local tourism.”
During the programme Mr Lavitman is sceptical about finding tuna in Scotland, which the narrator describes as better known for “salmon and haggis and kilts and bagpipes until now blue fin (tuna) would be the last thing to be thought of as Scottish. But the times are a changing.”
“I am not convinced there are tuna around here,” admitted Mr Lavitman as he heads out to St Kilda in the film.
But after he hooks a 500lb monster – which eventually broke his 400lb line – he says:”I have to admit I was being a little bit pessimistic. I really was not thinking it would happen. There’s tuna fish in these waters Angus!”
He eventually catches a monster, which is satellite tagged by Marine Scotland.
There is also dramatic footage of tuna shoals chasing prey off the Outer Hebrides.
It was in September 2013, that Captain Campbell’s Kilda Cruises landed what is believed to be the first rod-line tuna caught off Scotland.
The skipper had to throw more than £200,000 of tuna back into the sea off the Outer Hebrides – because he is not allowed to sell them.
Mr Campbell even admits that a 515lb monster he kept – after it had swallowed the hook too far to be released – was given away to locals on Harris, despite being offered £80,000 by a Scottish chef for it.
Bluefin tuna is on the Greenpeace ‘Red List’, with the organisation saying high demand has led to “a severely depleted population”. However, some studies suggest numbers might be stabilising after conservation efforts.
Last season anglers hooked seven tuna from Captain Campbell’s boat, Orca 111.
The previous year, in the eight weeks or so the tuna are off the Hebrides, the crew landed three tuna and lost one.
The crew from Kilda Cruises’ first Scottish caught tuna was a nine-foot specimen – with James Morrison and Chris Gunn taking it in turns to land the fish – thought to be the biggest even seen in Scotland. They also landed one around 400lb then too.
But because the bigger specimen had swallowed the hook too far down it had to be humanely killed.
Ken Fraser caught the biggest bluefin on record in Aulds Cove, Nova Scotia on October 26, 1979. It took him 45 minutes to land the 1496lb fish.
Mr Campbell, who has been at sea all his life, said: “As far as I know these are the first tuna ever caught on rod and line off Scotland and I am convinced these magnificent fish could become a viable target for anglers seeking big game fishing.
“I always had an idea that they may be present in our waters, but it wasn”t until we saw the fish chasing mackerel that we decided to have a go at catching one. During the first few trips our gear just wasn’t right so we contacted American company Fisherman’s Outfitter who specialise in tuna and they provided us with four rods and reels.
“We have put a lot of research into this. But they are not as easy to catch as you might think, but when you have one on the line you will never forget it.”