Alnmouth beach: Rare John Dory caught by eight-year-old tourist

A fish rarely found off the North East coast has been caught by an eight-year-old holidaymaker.

The John Dory was spotted among rock pools at Alnmouth, Northumberland, by Rylie from Wilsden, Bradford.

His uncle, Dale Greetham, said the family went from the despondency of not finding anything all day to the joy of landing "the most amazing fish".

British Sea Fishing (BSF) said finding a John Dory in the North Sea was "uncommon" and "noteworthy".

Mr Greetham said his nephew had spent the day trying to catch things in his net but kept coming up empty-handed.

"He was getting pretty despondent and just wanted to find something," Mr Greetham said.

All appeared lost when Rylie spotted a small fish in among the rock pools and used his net to catch it.

"We couldn't believe it," Mr Greetham said, adding: "It was small but really striking. It was swimming around very slowly so we think maybe it was being affected by the colder water.

"My father Paul knows about nature and said he thought it was a John Dory. We searched online later and are certain it was."

After admiring the fish, the family, most of whom are from Sheffield, released it back into the sea.

After seeing Mr Greetham's picture, Steve Johnston of the Marine Management Organisation said the fish was "definitely" a John Dory.

The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science also confirmed it as a John Dory.

A spokesman said it was a "very lucky" and "unusual" find, adding: "They usually inhabit waters much deeper and so it is not a common fish to be observed near to the shore and certainly not in rock pools at low tide."

He said John Dory can "occasionally" be found in the North Sea but are "more typical" off the west coast.

There is an "indication they are being found more regularly" off the east coast, he added.

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