Blue fin tuna catches increased by 95 per cent this year and had a wholesale value of almost €660,000, numbers out today show.

The National Statistics Office said fishermen caught 82,300 kilogrammes of tuna, which represents a significant jump from 2015. The figure, however, is just 4,000kg more than 2014.

Blue fin tuna catches are dictated by international quotas and although the NSO figures account for the first half of 2016, the blue fin tuna season would have closed by then.

Blue fin tuna is almost exclusively caught alive to be kept in cages out at sea for eventual export to Japan, where it is considered a delicacy.

Feeding practices at the tuna farms off the coast are to blame for the white slimy pollution that has plagued beaches along the eastern length of the coastline.

The tuna stats form part of a wider analysis of fish landings undertaken by the NSO.

The volume of all fish landings in the first six months amounted to almost 570,000kg, an increase of 126 per cent over the same period in 2015. Landings for all fish increased with swordfish being the only exception.

Swordfish catches were down by a quarter.

The NSO said the wholesale value of all fish landings increased by 58 per cent to €3.1 million.

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