A Brixham fisherman made national news this week after catching a live sturgeon off local waters.

Skipper Sean Michael Beck and the crew of his fishing boat, the Julia of Ladram, caught the rare fish some 15 miles off the coast of Dartmouth last weekend.

The specimen, which was returned to the sea alive and well, was about 4ft (1.2 metres) in length.

Mr Beck told the BBC that it was only the second time in 40 years of fishing that he had seen the rare fish, which is also a protected species. “It is not something you see every day. I have been fishing in Brixham since a very young boy and this is the second sturgeon I have seen,” he said.

Mr Beck revealed that the first sturgeon he caught some three years ago was so heavy it took two people to lift.

Mr Beck shared a photo of his find on the Brixham (fish town) Facebook page, sparking a wave of comments, many of which included messages of thanks that the fish was released unharmed.

Sturgeons are traditionally declared ‘royal fish’, meaning that any landed specimens have to be offered to the Crown, although the last time this happened was reportedly in 1969.

With a scaleless body marked by rows of bony plates that give it an almost prehistoric appearance, sturgeons can live up to 60 years.

But as a critically endangered species - sturgeons take 20 years to reach sexual maturity - they are rarely seen around British waters.

According to the government, anyone who catches a live fish is advised to return it immediately to the sea unharmed.