Big Blues

Dancing Tuna Tango the

Bluefi n stocks appear to be responding well to management efforts

BY NICK HONACHEFSKY

New England’s Bluefin by Dr. Guy Harvey

Editor’s Note: The following commentary represents one U.S. recreational angler’s perspective on the management of bluefin tuna stocks.

In the era of progressive fisheries management, no fish creates more clamor than the bluefin tuna.

The gustatory demand for bluefin tuna spiked in the 1980s and 1990s when docks throughout the Northeast were lined with professional tuna buyers who carried thermometers and, as quickly as possible, inspected, bought and shipped tuna to Japan for sushi.

The late 1990s and 2000s saw a marked decline in bluefin catch and stock rates. Enter the International Commission of Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), which tried to get a handle on perceived or real overfishing of the stocks, implementing the first total allowable catch (TAC) limit in 1998.

Fast forward. Throughout the 2010s, it seemed like Atlantic bluefin tuna numbers dramatically bounced back. Recreational anglers on charter boats and private vessels enjoyed sustained, spectacular catches of fish ranging from 50 to 300 pounds. Television shows, including Wicked Tuna, popularized and romanticized commercial tuna fishing.

With everybody wanting their share, management of the bluefin fishery has always been contentious. It pits recreational interests against commercial interests and the U.S. against Europe.

So, just what are the issues at play in intercontinental bluefin regulations? Are the current laws working?

QUELLING SUSPICIONS

Atlantic bluefin tuna is only one species, but it involves management among dozens of states and countries on both sides of the Atlantic. ICCAT is tasked with managing the species internationally, which can be a tricky endeavor, setting up a potential Pandora’s box of regulatory concerns.

Think about the squabbles about fishing regulations among states, never mind countries. International management data means that both recreational and commercial bluefin fishing can be halted suddenly. In 2021, New Jersey experienced solid giant bluefin fishing. Fish of 73 inches and more were caught throughout the month of May, then the allotted quota was deemed reached and the fishery was shut down overnight.

One hopes that U.S. anglers respect such closures and understand the reasons for them, but there is always a nagging question that eats at them: Are the European commercial fleets adhering to tuna regulations out there, or are U.S. efforts to preserve the stocks in vain?

Because tuna move about the entire Atlantic Ocean, preservation efforts in the U.S. can easily be negated if European commercial fleets simply harvest fish based on rules that are more lax or in the absence of effective law enforcement.

The dance between European and American fisheries is an uneasy one. Suspicion about overseas counterparts is present among anglers

on both sides of the pond, but overall, the laws seem to be working to rebuild the stocks.

A POSITIVE TREND

In 1998, better monitoring of bluefin stocks was implemented using TAC data and mandatory catch reporting. As a result, it appears that ICCAT regulations are having a positive effect across international Atlantic bluefin tuna stocks, quelling thoughts of mismanagement and enforcement overseas.

Major milestones have been achieved. In 2015, bluefin tuna, which had been deemed “endangered,” were reclassified as “near threatened.” In 2017, stocks were declared “no longer overfished” in the Eastern Atlantic; in 2021, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lowered their status to “least concern.”

It would seem like ICCAT regulatory efforts are working the way they should. In 2021, along the Eastern U.S. seaboard, tuna fishing was lights out, especially in New Jersey. It was not unusual to leave

Trolling spreader bars are a top tactic used by recreational anglers for tricking bluefin tuna.

the dock at 4 a.m. and be back at the dock at 10 a.m. with your allotted limit of two bluefin between 27 and 47 inches and one between 47 and 73 inches. Meanwhile, you were likely to have released a dozen more.

The glory days of bluefin tuna fishing in the legendary waters at Mud Hole, New Jersey, last seen in the 1980s, may be returning. In October 2021, off Long Island Sound, large bluefin of up to 73 inches were being landed, and giant tuna over 73 inches were being hooked and released only three miles from shore, sometimes within sight of the Statue of Liberty.

AN ANGLER’S PERSPECTIVE

You’d be hard-pressed to find another bluefin tuna angler as dedicated and qualified as Sami Ghandour, owner of the tuna-centric Saltywater Tackle in Sayreville, New Jersey. Ghandour chases bluefin from Prince Edward Island down to the Outer Banks of North Carolina and at all points in between.

Above: Sami Ghandour poses with a mediumclass Hatteras bluefin. The North Carolina bluefin bite peaks January through March. Right: Author hoists a 200-pound class bluefin tuna caught on a slidebait off the coast of New Jersey. New Jersey sees bluefin April through December.

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Migratory Patterns

Western and eastern bluefin mix to feed but separate to breed

Two populations of bluefin — western and eastern — crisscross the Atlantic to feed and return home to spawn.

Atlantic bluefin historic range

Main western spawning area

Main eastern spawning area

East-west management boundary

Migration routes

Source: Jean-Marc Fromentin and Joseph E. Powers, “Atlantic Bluefin Tuna: Population Dynamics, Ecology, Fisheries and Management,” Fish and Fisheries 6 (2005): 281-306

He is a powerful observer of tuna stocks and has some interesting insights.

“Bluefi n fi shing along the East Coast the past fi ve years has been phenomenal,” Ghandour said. “It probably really got going around 2009 and seems to have elevated each year since. I believe the stocks are healthy overall. Tuna regulations are pretty liberal right now on the recreational side, and a lot of anglers are harvesting their three-fi sh limits while releasing a bunch more, so the stocks are healthy enough to support those regulations.”

However, Ghandour also notes some concerning alarming trends.

“Th e past two or three years, whether it’s in Prince Edward Island or North Carolina, we seem to be missing the mid-class bluefi n, those in the 60-inch to lower 70inch range,” he said. “It’s either all big or all small. Th ere is an abundance of smaller fi sh to 50 inches in New Jersey and surrounding areas. Th e past three years in Cape Cod, all you’ll fi nd is giant tuna 92 to 101 inches along with the smaller fi sh. And the Outer Banks the last three to four years have been completely amazing on giant bluefi n from 75 to 93 inches and weighing 500 to 700 pounds. Th e thing is, you can fi nd small fi sh or giants, but you don’t see any of those mid-class fi sh anywhere.”

Could it be that the smaller tuna “slot limits” — usually somewhere between 26 and 45 inches — are limiting the number of fi sh that are available to grow to mid-class size? Or that the large amount of giant tuna around now are ones that grew large enough before the slot limit was imposed? On the other hand, maybe the 60- to 70-inch class fi sh have schooled together off shore in the middle of the Atlantic and simply have not come into the traditional tuna grounds. Ghandour’s observations are signifi cant; possibly some scientifi c data will be obtained in the near future to explain his observations.

TUNA TANGO

Demand for bluefi n tuna, whether from restaurants or anglers, is not going away. But I hope that the Wild West of unregulated tuna fi shing is a thing of the past. Regulatory commissions, enforcement and stock management seem to have the bluefi n tuna stocks trending in the right direction. Will the trend continue? Today, things look promising.