O-fish-ally extended
Tagging of bluefin tuna is set to continue for a number of weeks off the coast of Cork.
While there is no sport or commercial fishery for bluefin tuna in Ireland, a pilot programme has been developed comprising 15 authorised charter angling skippers, which commenced in August in order to catch, tag and release Atlantic bluefin tuna for data collection purposes off the Irish coast
These authorised skippers with vessels operating out of ports located in Cork, Clare, Galway, Sligo and Donegal are supporting scientific work to increase knowledge of the behaviour and abundance of bluefin tuna in Irish waters.
All of the skippers have participated in training with guidance provided around fish handling, welfare, tagging and data recording. Participants in the programme catch, tag and release bluefin tuna while adhering to strict fish safety and handling procedures at all times.
Authorisations were originally granted to the 15 charter skippers from mid-August until mid-October.
This pilot Bluefin Tuna Data Collection Programme has been very successful with 201 fish tagged and released to date with utmost consideration to their welfare. However, due to the migratory patterns of bluefin tuna, there has been little activity in the south and south west. As a result, the fishing season will now be extended for a further four weeks until 12 November to seek data which will help improve knowledge of the population structure and distribution of bluefin tuna in these regions. There will be no further extensions as lower water temperatures could hinder post-release survival of these fish after mid-November.
Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Minister Michael Creed said: “I am delighted by the excellent cooperation shown between my Department, DCCAE, SFPA, MI and the IFI in the development and management of this pilot project. The extension of the programme will provide an opportunity to gather further data and improve our understanding of the migratory patterns of bluefin tuna around our coasts.”