Fin-credible! Huge bluefin tuna leaps out of sea in front of surfers

By James Connolly

This is the dramatic moment a huge bluefin tuna leaps out of the sea in front of stunned surfers.

The amazing encounter was captured at Fistral Beach in Newquay, Cornwall, when a group were having a surf lesson.

Footage shows the surfers waiting for waves when a smaller fish suddenly leaps from the water behind them.

Its appearance is quickly followed by the enormous tuna bursting out moments later in pursuit.

The predator can be seen almost completely airborne as it snaps up a mackerel during what was described as a "feeding frenzy."

The video was captured last Tuesday, Sept. 22, by Newquay Activity Centre manager Jacob Waller, 23.

It quickly attracted attention online - with some viewers even questioning whether the extraordinary clip had been created using AI.

Jacob said: "It's a real video.

"We filmed it just before lunchtime down at Fistral Beach, capturing the insane moment a bluefin tuna leaps out of the water capturing this mackerel in its mouth.

"There was a bit of a feeding frenzy going on. It was an insane moment.

"We've been inundated with comments about it.

"It is real - they are in our waters, these bluefin tuna. They're here around mid-summer to late autumn."

Bluefin tuna, one of the largest and fastest predatory fish in the ocean, have become an increasingly familiar sight around the British coastline after a period of absence in the 1990s.

Their numbers have recovered following years of strict international conservation measures introduced after stocks were badly depleted by overfishing.

The resurgence has been particularly noticeable around Cornwall, where the fish can follow shoals of prey close to the coast.