A GIRL aged nine has caught a bluefin tuna nearly six times heavier than she is — weighing 28 stone.
Izzy Crotty, who is around 5st, hooked the monster while out sea fishing with her dad.
She spent half an hour reeling it in and the rod had to be attached to the boat to stop the youngster being yanked overboard.
The catch would be worth around £70,000 in parts of the world where it is still legal to catch to eat.
But the species is protected in the UK, so can only be caught from August to November for scientific tagging purposes before being released.
Dad John, 35, said: “We couldn’t believe how big it was.
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“It was only Izzy’s second outing and this was the first fish on. We were around 20 miles out.
“The fish started off pretty slow, then it started to run. It took around half an hour for us to get it alongside the boat.”
Izzy was fishing off Plymouth, Devon, aboard charter boat Fortuna, one of 25 vessels permitted to take part in the tagging scheme that was introduced last year.
It gives anglers a three-month window to experience the “once-in-a-lifetime” thrill of catching big game fish they would otherwise have to travel to the Caribbean for.
Since bluefin tuna became protected, the sea off the south west coast of England has seen a resurgence in the giant species and is now a world-class fishery for them.
John, a farmer from Crediton, Devon, said: “It was even heavier than me and I’m 6ft tall, so it was much heavier than Izzy.
“She was excited but exhausted. She slept well that night.”
Mark Jury, owner of Fortuna Charters, added: “It was amazing watching a nine-year-old catch a fish six times the weight of her.
“Izzy is going to be one hell of a fisherwoman. She gave it a great effort and used all her strength to wind in the monster.”
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Atlantic bluefin tuna grow to around 6ft 6ins long and can often weigh around 40st.
The biggest one ever caught was hooked off Nova Scotia, Canada, in 1979 which weighed in at over 106st.
