The recent blustery weather has made it challenging going for those anglers hoping to hook into a ‘fish of a lifetime’ Bluefin Tuna. The fleet was limited in the days they were able to go to sea, and the conditions were somewhat lumpy for many of the anglers that did manage to get out. But the tuna didn’t seem deterred as catches were steady despite the rough conditions.

Adrian Molloy of Tuna.ie notched up a remarkable 100th BFT of the season and he has some great footage of the strike on his Facebook page. Meanwhile, Wildatlanticway angling made it to 51 tuna for the month of August as a family travelled from Germany to experience the top class fishing of the Donegal coast. They had 7 fish in total over the two days of fishing with female angler Sophie coming out on top with three fish to her rod. Meanwhile the reels were also screaming on the Kiwi Girl as anglers managed to bring two fish in the 400lb class to the side of the boat.

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All fish were tagged and released as part of Inland Fisheries Ireland’s Bluefin Tuna CHART Programme

Authorised Vessels

Anglers wishing to engage in this fishery must only do so on a sea angling vessel specifically authorised to participate in the pilot programme.  Any person engaging in this fishery on any vessel which is not appropriately authorised will be in breach of the Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction (Bluefin Tuna) Regulations.

A full list of authorised skippers can be found below: