FIS Worldnews, the news service of Fish Information & Services, a global seafood industry information service, posted two reports this week about bluefin tuna that should interest anglers from across the Saltwater Nation.

First, FIS reports that scientists from the oceanographic centers in Malaga, Spain; Gijon, Spain; and the Balearic Islands, Spain, all members of the Spanish Institute of Oceanography, a public research organization,  released a study showing that bluefin tuna larvae from the 2003 spawning phase show a higher growth potential than larvae of the 2004 and 2005 spawning phases. Researchers were able to attribute the increased growth potential to the effect a 2003 European heat wave had on the entire ecosystem in which the tuna were spawned. Similar effects have been noted in other species, such as sardines and herring.

Perhaps more immediately relevant to bluefin fisheries, FIS also announced today that the Spanish Institute of Oceanography  released data showing what the maximum weights and length should be for commercial bluefin harvest. According to the study the maximum bluefin length should be set at 3.31 meters (10.86 feet) and 725 kilograms (1,598.4 pounds)–this size is equivalent to size of the largest bluefin ever taken. These figures were determined by a panel consisting of 31 scientists from 11 countries and studied a bluefin stock of 2.5 million fish; they also reviewed data from 224 publications dating from 1605 to 2011. Part of the report identifies that these figures do not matcxh the current figures established by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), an intergovernmental organization that manages the conservation of tuna in the Atlantic and adjacent waters. ICCAT identifies the maximum size as 427 centimeters (14 feet). The Spanish Institute of oceanography has recommended that ICCAT amend their limits, but it is unlikely they will, which is perhaps why many conservationists refer to ICCAT as the “International Conspiracy to Catch All Tuna.”

FISH ON!

 

Bluefin Tuna, fish, Fishing, ICCAT, Spanish Institute of Oceanography, tuna

By Sid

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