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Would you recognise this unusual looking fish? Experienced fisherman’s catch may not be that strange after all

This unusual-looking specimen is named a Belone belone, otherwise known as a garfish.
This unusual-looking specimen is named a Belone belone, otherwise known as a garfish.

With its unusual elongated mouth and long shiny body, this fish looks a bit like a peculiar sardine or even a swordfish.

It certainly baffled an experienced fisherman who caught it in an Argyll sea loch this week.

Shaun Mackenzie, 34, is a deckhand with North West Marine in Oban.

The former creel fisherman spent 10 years of his career working in West Loch Tarbert.

Shaun Mackenzie enjoys trout fishing in West Loch Tarbert.

But never before has he come across a garfish. He posted on social media: “Strange fish for the West Loch” alongside a picture of his catch.

It wasn’t long before his fishing friends were filling him in with the name of the species and some information about it.

Mr Mackenzie was enjoying a spot of fishing in the loch near his home in the Kintyre village on Sunday night.

Spinning rod

He was out in a small punt fishing for sea trout with a spinning rod when he caught the unusual creature about 6pm.

Mr Mackenzie said: “I was a creel fisherman in West Loch for around about 10 years. These are apparently deep water fish, you never see them in the West Loch.

“It is a salt water loch but there is a lot of fresh water in it too.

Shaun’s unusual catch.

“I put it on Facebook and a lot of the guys were saying it is not what you expect to catch here because of the shallow water.

“It would be interesting to hear if anyone else has seen them in the West Loch.

‘Strange for these parts’

“A couple of guys have said you usually find them in Denmark but it’s strange for these parts.”

He added: “I was down at Kennacraig (where you catch the ferry to Islay) about two weeks ago and there were schools of them. I didn’t know what they were at the time but that’s what they must have been.”

Shaun’s small fishing boat.

A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said: “The specimen appears to be the ‘Belone belone’, more commonly known as the garfish.

“The garfish is a pelagic predator fish which is relatively common throughout European waters with quite a number seen in the North Sea, so there is no reason to think it would not be equally common on the west coast.

“They are often found near the surface of the water, so West Loch Tarbert would not be considered too shallow for them.”

The sunfish of Rosemarkie

According to britishseafishing.co.uk, garfish are often found in the southern parts of the UK.

They’re often thought of as a warmer water species, and commonly found in the waters around the Portuguese island of Madeira and the Atlantic coastlines of Spain and France.

This certainly wasn’t the first time strange fish have turned up in Scottish waters.

People in Rosemarkie on the Black Isle were left surprised when a huge tropical fish washed up on their beach last year.

At 6ft across from fin to fin, the creature was soon identified as one of the largest bony fish in the world – the sunfish.

The fish is considered a delicacy in Asia, and is an endangered species.