Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have tagged young bluefin tuna in Atlantic waters off New England to track migration patterns.
The new fish-tagging studies offer the first fishery-independent, year-round data on migration patterns and habitat use for the popular game fish.
Director of University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Marine Research Station and the Large Pelagics Research Centre (LPRC), Molly Lutcavage, said: “Our tagging data are important because for the first time we’ve got direct measurements of bluefin tuna movements and habitat associations. In other words, their travel routes, depth and temperature patterns, and where they intersect with recreational fisheries.”
For this study, Ms Lutcavage, lead author Benjamin Galuardi and fishermen partners deployed 58 miniature pop-up satellite archival tags (PSAT) and 132 implanted archival tags on juvenile Atlantic bluefin tuna between 2005 and 2009. Miniaturised pop-up satellite tags suitable for smaller (two to five year old) fish helped make the research possible.
The researchers found that juvenile bluefin mainly occupied shallow depths, averaging about 16 to 40 feet and relatively warm water, averaging 64 to 70 degrees F. In winter, they frequented deeper water and showed more variable depth patterns.
The work should lead to better understanding of bluefin tuna ecology, catch patterns and management of wild stocks that provide a multi-million dollar sport fishery from Maine to North Carolina.
