Rare tuna fishing licence given to Scottish boat with eyes on Tokyo market

A skipper from a Scottish island is one of a select few in the UK to have been granted a licence for tuna fishing.

Angus Campbell, from Harris, is one of 15 fishers to be issued a commercial licence to catch bluefin tuna, which are showing a “heartening resurgence”, according to the Marine Conservation Society.

Only a handful of licences, which last a year, are given out by the UK Government’s Marine Management Organisation (MMO) due to the need to protect and conserve the species, which has previously been in decline due to overfishing.

My 13-hour trip in the North Atlantic witnessing Scotland's role in the UK bluefin tuna story

Angus Campbell pictured left with fellow fisherman from Devon, Andy, onboard Harmony | Katharine Hay

For 2025, the UK has some 66 tonnes of bluefin tuna quota, of which 45 will be shared among the licence holders.

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Mr Campbell’s threshold of three tonnes will be landed at Leverburgh, to the south of the island, which will open up fishing to the west of the Hebrides where he said the tuna are of a higher quality. The skipper had previously been restricted to Stornoway, on the east of Lewis, when he was given a licence two years ago.

This, in turn, will make the catch more marketable to high end customers in the UK, but also markets in Tokyo where bluefin is highly sought after, he said.

Angus Campbell's boat, Harmony, which is based out of Leverburgh | Katharine Hay

Mr Campbell, who has held a catch-and-release licence for bluefin, which helps with research projects on the migratory fish, said he is “very excited to be back in commercial fishing.”

He said: “Landing at Leverburgh gives us the opportunity to work out west and we are hoping to get a better quality of fish than was accessible when we could only land at Stornoway.

“It has to be of very good quality to send it abroad. We are looking at local and UK markets and have plans set up to go as far as Tokyo. We had it all set up last year but unfortunately didn’t get a licence.”

Mr Campbell, who also runs Kilda Cruises, operates the vessel “Harmony” which can carry up to 12 passengers and is also used for angling trips.

Demand for licences from around the UK was described as “exceptionally high.”

While bluefin have made a comeback to UK waters, particularly the English Channel and the southwest coast of England, catching them for commercial purposes is limited for conservation reasons.

Although no official list of the fresh round of license holders has been published yet, it is thought that Mr Campbell’s is the only one in Scotland.

Duncan Macinnes, secretary of the Western Isles Fishermen’s Association, said the licence for Leverburgh will “give flexibility to the grounds where we know larger tuna are migrating to.”

He added: “We have been saying for years that there is potential for a well-managed tuna fishery in the Outer Hebrides which could have a real economic impact.

“This is an important step towards that and the fact that landings can take place at Leverburgh as well as Stornoway is a really significant development”.

Conservation efforts and changes in climate have brought bluefin back to UK waters.

In 2023, the UK Government gave the greenlight for some fishing boats to be given one year-long commercial licences as part of a trial to evaluate the sustainability of a small scale bluefin tuna fishery.

Last year, 13 British fishing vessels were given permission to catch a maximum of 39 tonnes of bluefin between them - some individual fish can weigh up to 600kg, according to researchers.