Fisherman Peter Dent found a Mediterranean swordfish thrashing about in his salmon net a

mile off Newbiggin-by-the-Sea in Northumberland.

The 6ft-long swordfish, which was following shoals of mackerel, was thousands of miles from its usual habitats, fishermen cannot remember one appearing in the North Sea before.
Dent sold it to a local restaurant.

In the same week bigeye tuna was caught by a Penzance-based fishing vessel in the Atlantic - 70-miles off Land's End and 2,000 miles from its usual habitat. A highly prized species of tuna, it is usually found off the coasts of Hawaii and Australia where it is generally preferred by discriminating purveyors of sashimi and sushi. Only the third bigeye tuna to be caught off British shores, the 40lb fish was sold for £90 to a fish dealer at Crowlas, on the Cornish coast.