Fisherman catches extremely rare prehistoric fish off UK coast

By Filipa Gaspar

An angler has landed an ultra-rare “prehistoric” fish off the Cornish coast, which is seldom seen by humans.

Fishing enthusiast Owen Mates sailed 10 miles out from Falmouth Bay, Cornwall when he caught the elusive wreckfish.

The deep-sea species gets its name from its tendency to inhabit shipwrecks on the ocean floor.

The angler's land has been deemed one of the rarest catches ever recorded in local waters.

Owen runs the popular Kayak Fishing Cornwall YouTube channel and he was fishing around 10 miles offshore in Falmouth Bay with two friends.

The trio was shark fishing on Sunday, September 28, when the unusual fish appeared near the surface.

Owen said: “We had a chum slick out and were targeting blue sharks when this strange-looking fish started circling the boat.

“At first, we had no idea what it was and then, after a few minutes, it took one of the shark baits - a mackerel flapper - on my rod.

"I couldn’t believe it when we got it to the side of the boat.”

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The fish measured around 70–80 cm in length, with an estimated weight of 10–12 lb - potentially exceeding the current British rod-caught record of 11 lb 14 oz, which dates back to 2001.

After a few quick photos, the anglers carefully unhooked the wreckfish and returned it safely to the sea.

“It wasn’t until we got home and checked online that we realized just how rare it was,” Owen added.

“The only record I could find was from 2001 and caught mid-Channel off Poole - nothing close to land like this.

"It could be one of the few wreckfish ever caught on a rod so close to the Cornish coast."

The capture may also be further evidence of changing sea temperatures around the UK coast, with warmer currents drawing Mediterranean and Atlantic species such as tuna, sunfish and now wreckfish closer to Cornwall than ever before.

Owen has shared footage of the catch on his YouTube channel, which has already sparked excitement among the angling community and beyond.

Wreckfish are deep-water predators that typically reside hundreds of meters below the surface and can reach lengths of up to two meters, living for up to 100 years.

Juveniles occasionally drift into shallower waters, but rod-caught specimens are virtually unheard of around Britain.