Terry Tuna Visit Exmouth SUP & Paddle Group
4 years ago this September 16th 2024 a few paddlers from Exmouth SUP & Paddle Group where on a sunset paddle when they were circled by a very large BlueFin Tuna fish in Exmouth Estuary.
The fish was upwards of 8 feet in length and circled the group of paddle boarders for around 20 minutes even following us back to the Duck Pond slipway before heading off out to sea.
Normally a deep water fish it is extremely rare to see them in somewhere like the estuary and even more so across the sandbars where water is rarely over 6 to 8 feet in depth.
The visitor caused quite a stir and the video filmed by Derek Johnson and uploaded to YouTube made its way as far as New Zealand.
The amazing part was not the size, species or location of the fish but its behaviour in following the paddle boarders.
BBC Spotlight
The story was picked up on BBC Spotlight and you can view the interview here: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=saved&v=1541874349351905