Blue Fin Tuna – OK Year, Decent Prices, Brighter Future

by Fishermen’s Voice Staff

Chris Weiner harpooning bluefin in the Gulf of Maine. Weiner said he’s seen a mixed season with spotty catches, good quality fish, bad weather and good prices. Things pick up on Georges in Mid October. Brian Weiner photo.

 

Blue fin tauna landings have been spotty in the Gulf of Maine this year. Some fishermen have done well in some areas at times, but overall it’s been a relatively slow season. Fishing on Georges has been good at times. With the Japanese yen reasonably good, prices for average fish have been decent all year, said Bob Fitzpatrick of Maguro America, a New England buyer based in South Chatham, MA.

More tuna has been taken in Canadian waters. Speculation abounds on why that is and most of it is focused on water temperatures and forage. Squid has been plentiful, but herring has not. Water temperatures in the Gulf of Maine have been higher than a lot of fishermen have ever seen. The mild winter and spring gave higher water temperatures a start. The presence of more swordfish, trigger fish and bonita are also clues to warmer water.

While the catch has been slow somewhat so far, next week it could change, said Steve Weiner who harpoons tuna in the Gulf of Maine. Weiner is active in the management process and is a member of the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Association, an organization that has sought changes to the tuna assessment that the International Committee for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) uses in setting quota. His son Chris Weiner, who also harpoons tuna in the Gulf of Maine, reported from an ICCAT Advisory Committee meeting in Washington, DC in the 3rd week of October, where the East/West Atlantic quota, the rolling over of quota and the Mexican quota that ends up in Canada remain perennial topics of discussion.

Chris has seen decent fishing on Georges, good prices and a lot of giants, but weather has been a deterrent a lot this year. He said hook fishermen have done better. The harpooners need fish near the surface with calm the ideal and the weather is therefore more critical.

Rich Ruais, after saying it has been a weird year for a lot of species said the fishery was on track to reach the quota. He said the blue fin biomass was up in the eastern and western Atlantic. He referred to highly migratory species scientist Molly Lutcavage’s more recent research as very important to the understanding and management of the blue fin tuna resource. One of the key points of the research, said Ruais, was the likely confirmation of a much lower spawning age for blue fin. “The spawning age according to NMFS was 16 years of age, but Lutcavage’s work has shown it to be 5 to 6 years of age. This could have a dramatic effect on future stock assessments,” said Ruais.

Lutcavage said the working document referred to included data on bluefin spawning ages, but that it was preliminary and has yet to be peer reviewed. However, it reconfirms earlier work that predicted sexual maturity at 5 to 6 years of age for bluefin.

Lutcavage said the important question now is whether the fish studied could all be eastern Atlantic fish. Some could she said, but it’s impossible that they are all from the east. The east-west Atlantic separate tuna groups theory is a lingering , though withering theory - lingering more because of politics than science. The main thing she said is they appear to be the same based on gonad identification, histology and endocrine profiles.

The data from satellite tags has shown bluefin going to the Gulf of Mexico to spawn, but also to various other potential spawning areas. The smallest fish don’t spawn every year, but not all the younger fish that go to the Gulf of Mexico skip a year. The number of spawning areas is potentially much larger, the number of fish spawning much greater and the and the reasons for selecting any particular area to spawn much broader than previously thought based on the new research of Lutcavage and her group.

One example is that the spawning area must be large enough for the tuna larvae to get food enough to grow. These areas need to be low in productivity for other animals that might feed on the tuna larvae. The bluefin tuna story is looking far more complicated than a simple east-west stocks scenario. It is also looking more like the highly migratory bluefin may have found a number of places in the Atlantic with at least it’s ideal 75 degree temperature range and preferred prey for spawn and for giants.

Lutcavage said if they are spawning over a larger time span (age range) and in more locations it will change the assessments. “But, said Lutcavage, “there is a lot of work to be done, a lot to be confirmed and a lot to be determined.”

The season may be slow but Fitzpatrick was up beat about the size of the fish taken and the price stability. The Gulf of Maine fish are being taken inshore, 3 to 10 miles out, weather remains a problem at Chatham where they fish 50 miles out, and more so at Georges at 120 miles. With fish taken into mid November there is a chance for a few good trips.

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