Weighting a whopping 320 kilograms! A rare bluefin tuna was caught in the Marmara Sea.

Divers who set out to sea on the shores of Gebze in Kocaeli caught a rare bluefin tuna weighing 320 kilograms and measuring 2.5 meters long with a spear gun.

Görkem Gürsoy and Volkan Topçu, who set out to sea on the shores of Gebze in Kocaeli to hunt, caught a rare bluefin tuna weighing 320 kilograms and measuring 2.5 meters long.

The two divers found the tuna that had swum away with the spear gun on the third day and brought it ashore.

RECORDED BY THE MINISTRY

Görkem Gürsoy, who has been diving with his teammate Volkan Topçu for two years and has been chasing after bluefin tuna, said, "We wanted to catch this fish. Finally, we were able to. It appeared in front of us, and we were able to catch it. It is one of the largest sizes in Turkey. In fact, we couldn't find, see, or hear of a fish caught at this size. 2.5 meters, 320 kilograms bluefin tuna. A very important and valuable fish. Representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry also came. They measured it, recorded it." Gürsoy also added that they go diving every morning to catch fish and give the fish they catch to stray animals and those in need, emphasizing that they do not sell them.

'NOT A NORMAL TUNA, A RARE TUNA'

Volkan Topçu, who said that they had seen the fish before but did not shoot, only took underwater footage with underwater cameras, said, "We decided to shoot together for the last time. We prepared and made the same dive again. We shot the animal together. The animal was massive, weighing 320 kilograms and measuring 2.5 meters long. It broke our equipment, the ropes couldn't hold. It tore off the reel of the spear gun we shot. It moved away like this. Last year, we saw half of this weight in this region. We saw and recorded about 200 kilograms. This year, we encountered such a large animal for the first time. It is not a normal tuna, it is a bluefin tuna. It is a rare type."

'WE WERE ABLE TO BRING IT ASHORE IN THREE DAYS'

Topçu, who described how they got excited when they saw the fish, said, "You are face to face with a huge fish. Two hunters, it is also a hunter and we are also hunters. We decided to shoot one or two seconds later and made our shot. Since the animal is entirely muscle mass, it took 8 seconds to take 90 meters of rope and go. Our spear gun was on top of it. It moved away with it. We didn't give up on it. We continued to search with the boat. We made dives at many different points. After all, there was a 90-meter rope. We thought we would see the end of the rope and catch the animal. We couldn't find it on the first day. We continued diving on the second day. We came with the boat and searched without going home in the evening. It had surfaced in an open area in 3 days. We brought it ashore like this," he said.