Electronic tags reveal transatlantic migrations and breeding grounds of Atlantic bl...( 1 catch quota for Western Atlantic fish...)

1 catch quota for Western Atlantic fisheries (2,500 metric tons or 5.5 million pounds) is one-twelfth the quota for the Eastern Atlantic fisheries (29,500 metric tons or 65 million pounds). Current management of the fishery by ICCAT assumes that catches involve only a low level of mixing between tunas from the Western and Eastern Atlantic.

ICCAT imposes strict quotas on fish caught in the Western Atlantic and much more liberal quotas on bluefin landed in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. The Western Atlantic management is aimed at recovering the breeding population to levels that produce "maximum sustainable yield. The Eastern Atlantic breeding population is considered to be in decline and overfished, although it is of greater overall abundance than the western breeding population.

According to the Science study, "The electronic tagging data indicate that mixing between the two management units exists at a higher level than ICCAT has incorporated intostock assessments. However, movements to distinct breeding grounds are apparent, suggesting a mixing of stocks on feeding grounds and a separation to distinct breeding localities. Future assessment of stock status should evaluate the new information and reassess the management strategies applied to Atlantic bluefin tuna."

"From the data, its clear there are two breeding populations of bluefin tuna that spend considerable time together on the rich Western North Atlantic feeding grounds," says Block. "Our results demonstrate that bluefin tuna are capable of ranging widely throughout the North Atlantic without regard to the stock boundary in the mid-Atlantic. That means efforts to bring about a recovery of bluefin tuna populations will require increased cooperation among all nations fishing for bluefin tuna.

"Importantly," she adds, "our data indicate that bluefin are sorting to distinct breeding grounds where efforts to protect the breeding aggregations should be increased." '"/>

Contact: Ken Peterson, Monterey Bay Aquarium
831-648-4922
Stanford University
16-Aug-2001

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