A remarkable chapter in North Yorkshire's fishing history has been written this week, with the arrival of two giant Atlantic bluefin tuna.
The first fish, weighing around 302kg, was brought into Whitby on Sunday aboard the fishing vessel The Dominator.
It is believed to be the first bluefin tuna landed in the port since 1939.
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The second was caught by skipper Clive Easton, who followed up with another impressive catch, landing a ‘whopper’ bluefin weighing approximately 319.7kg.
Bluefin tuna used to be a regular sight in UK waters but due to overfishing across the Atlantic, populations dwindled.
For more than 60 years no sightings of this species were recorded anywhere around the UK but in the past decade, sightings are slowly increasing, The Wildlife Trusts said.
Their return is likely due to improved management of the fisheries through the introduction and enforcement of catch limits and a shift in prey habitat due to climate change.
Commercial fishing for the species remains tightly regulated.
The Dominator is one of just 30 UK vessels licensed to target bluefin tuna during this year’s season, with all fishing carried out using rod-and-reel methods.
Speaking to the BBC, crew member Jack Gardner said: “I have never caught anything like it.
“It jumped out of the water – we all just looked at each other in awe.
“We couldn't believe that we had actually hooked into one."
Jack said the five-person crew had been about 10 miles from Whitby Harbour when they made their first catch.
He added: "Just as we were heading home we spotted a group of birds, so we went to try and have a look around there and that's when we hooked into one.
"We knew they were in the waters, it was just whether we could catch them or not because they are fast fish."
Bluefin tunas travel thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean.
Along the Yorkshire, they are traditionally known as ‘tunny’ and often survive 20 years or more.
In the 1930s, giant bluefin tuna attracted wealthy sport anglers to Yorkshire, helping places such as Whitby and Scarborough become internationally renowned big-game fishing destinations.
The largest tuna associated with Whitby's historic "tunny" era weighed more than 850lb, landed in 1933.
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