Massive 271kg northern Atlantic bluefin tuna caught off NSW north coast at Coffs Harbour

Australian fisherman were left in shock after a ‘spectacular’ northern bluefin tuna was caught off the north coast of New South Wales. 

A northern bluefin tuna weighing a massive 271kgs was hooked by a longliner vessel on Wednesday morning off Coffs Harbour. 

Supply and business manager at the Sydney Fish Market Erik Poole, said the fish was in ‘pretty good condition’. 

The world’s most expensive fish, a 276kg bluefin tuna caught off the northern Aomori Prefecture in Japan, sold for $2.6million in 2020.

It has not been revealed how much the Australian-caught fish fetched at market.

The huge 271kg bluefin tuna caught off Coffs Harbour in northern New South Wales (pictured)

‘A fish of that size isn’t something we’d target because they’re just too big,’ Mr Poole told 9News.

‘The fish needs to be used within a few days so to use all of that sashimi is a big ask.’

Mr Pool said the Australian market usually catch tuna around the 40kg to 50kgs  mark – sending bigger hauls to Japan.   

The prized fish was sold to Claudio’s Seafood at the Sydney Fish Markets and was an encouraging sign the food industry is recovering from the strain of the pandemic. 

‘Being able to afford to eat good quality fish like that opposed to something that comes vacuum-packed from overseas is great news and something we certainly encourage,’ the Fish Market boss added.

The northern bluefin reach a maximum length of 1.5m and up to 32kg in weight, but majority of fish caught by anglers weigh less than 15kgs, according to the Department of Primary Industries. 

It could be a record-breaker in NSW, with a previous largest tuna caught weighing 148kg. 

Sydney Fish Market said the massive bluefin tuna was ‘spectacular’ and in a ‘good condition’ (pictured)