The first bluefin tuna caught and sold commercially in Wales went over the counter at a Saturday morning fish market in Burry Port this month.
Five fish, landed at Milford Haven under a Welsh Government trial, were cut and sold by Whitfish, the online fishmonger based on the Dyfatty Park industrial estate.
Most of it went to customers who walked in. The fins, frames and heads were boxed up and sent out across the UK through the firm’s home delivery service.
Teddy Whitall, Whitfish’s managing director, said: “It means a great deal to be involved in purchasing and selling the first bluefin tuna commercially caught and landed in Wales.”
Rod and reel only, and every fish logged
Bluefin, the biggest of the tunas, all but vanished from British waters for decades and have been back in numbers off the Welsh and south west coasts for around ten years.
The Welsh Government calls its scheme a commercial-scientific trial. A small number of licensed boats can keep and sell what they catch in designated parts of the Welsh zone, in return for handing over detailed data on every trip.
The rules are tight: rod and reel only, no chumming, boats of 12 metres or under, trips of less than 24 hours, and every fish landed at Milford Haven or Holyhead.
Skippers must record where they fished, the weather, the hours spent and any bycatch, and complete international catch documents for each tuna. The government says the data will decide how a Welsh bluefin fishery runs in future years.
Only boats that do not already hold a bluefin licence or permit can take part, and their crews have to complete training first.
The trial uses its own slice of the UK’s 2026 bluefin quota and sits apart from the UK commercial fishery and the catch-and-release recreational fishing in Wales and England, the government says, so neither loses any of its allocation.
“A new chapter for Welsh fishing”
Whitall said: “This is about more than the fish themselves: it’s the start of a new chapter for Welsh fishing, creating fresh opportunities for our fishermen, coastal communities and the wider seafood sector.”
He added: “I hope this marks the beginning of something exciting for the future of the Welsh fishing industry.”
Llyr Gruffydd, the Cabinet Minister for Rural Resilience and Sustainability, said the landings showed fishers “can combine tradition with science to build a sustainable future for bluefin tuna in Wales, and deliver locally caught fish to Welsh customers”.
He added: “I’d like to congratulate everyone involved in this fantastic moment for Welsh fishing.”
The boats hope to land more in the coming weeks, weather permitting. Whitfish’s online market opens each Monday evening, according to its website.
It is a rare good-news day for seafood in the town. In August Parsons Pickles mothballed its Burry Port cockle factory with eight jobs lost, after what its owners called one of the worst seasons in living memory.
The Welsh Government has not said how many boats are in the trial, what the five fish weighed or what they sold for.
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