Hunting the Giant Bluefin Tuna

Off Northern Ireland’s coast, Atlantic bluefin tuna, one of the largest fish in the sea, are making a surprise comeback, sparking an ambitious new vision for local fishing. Davy Frayne and Johnny Thursby, two anglers from the town of Ballycastle, have been fishing for giant bluefin tuna off the coast of Northern Ireland for the past six years. Now they are attempting to establish a bluefin fishery, boasting fish of up to 1,000 pounds in weight.

The journey to catch tuna is a tumultuous one. Davy and Johnny are tested to their limits, fishing in treacherous waters where bad weather, strong currents and deep waters can create difficult circumstances to land a fish. The stretch between Ballycastle and Rathlin is an unforgiving one. They are on the water at every opportunity they can get, starting at the break of dawn and fishing until the light fades over the water to the west.

Ballycastle is a town steeped in fishing history, the people of this town have longstanding connections with the waters here, but in recent history, fishing fleets have diminished and the fish stocks are low. Davy and Jonny are attempting to bring a new form of fishing to this coastline, one never seen before in these waters and they have many sceptics doubting the viability of such a fishery.