Hatteras BFT

[KAISER]

So last week before the storm BFT fishing was great off Hatteras.

Does anyone know what stage of there migration they are in? going north for the summer after spawing was my guess?

i would love to read up on there migration cycle but cant find a book on it.

any advice?

[gmoney]

They'll be down there for a little while longer, prolly head north in about a month or so. Be back in the gulf of maine early june/late may.


could be wrong but just my guess

[KP161]

So last week before the storm BFT fishing was great off Hatteras.

Does anyone know what stage of there migration they are in? going north for the summer after spawing was my guess?

i would love to read up on there migration cycle but cant find a book on it.

any advice?

Most of the fish I have heard caught off NC recently are 60-75". You mention spawning. Just to let you know none of those fish have spawned yet or will be spawning until they are bigger. So those fish do not have to incorporate a trip to the spawning grounds in their yearly migrations at this point in their life.

This is some of the science I have read: Interestingly, western bluefin show a median maturation age of 11-12 (95-100"), while the median bluefin tuna spawning age in the Mediterranean is variable and can occur as young as 5 years of age or even earlier.

So western fish median spawn at 11-12years old at 95-100". I don't believe they spawn for the first time until about 80". So a good chunk of fish that have been around the past few years are coming up on spawning age in the next couple of years.

Once the fish get big enough they will then start heading to the gulf of Mexico to spawn. I don't believe any fish spawn off of NC.

[Block and Tackle]

Most of the fish I have heard caught off NC recently are 60-75". You mention spawning. Just to let you know none of those fish have spawned yet or will be spawning until they are bigger. So those fish do not have to incorporate a trip to the spawning grounds in their yearly migrations at this point in their life.

This is some of the science I have read: Interestingly, western bluefin show a median maturation age of 11-12 (95-100"), while the median bluefin tuna spawning age in the Mediterranean is variable and can occur as young as 5 years of age or even earlier.

So western fish median spawn at 11-12years old at 95-100". I don't believe they spawn for the first time until about 80". So a good chunk of fish that have been around the past few years are coming up on spawning age in the next couple of years.

Once the fish get big enough they will then start heading to the gulf of Mexico to spawn. I don't believe any fish spawn off of NC.

That is some good info there. Now I know this is not going to be well received, but with med fish spawning as early as 5 years old and something like 47-53% of our US stocks being med fish, there needs to be stop limits put in for the smaller fish. I know some commercial guys out there scream baby killers and people take offense to it but I personally think that a year around rec fishery is very counter productive. The commercial guys have quotas and restrictions to help preserve the stock. Why not do the same on the rec side since they are proving that the tuna are spawning earlier and earlier in the life cycle. As with humans, the older a tuna gets the less fertile is reproduction cycle becomes. So why are we still allowing these 65" med fish that can spawn to be picked off one after another.

Like I said I am not trying to start a war here but I think down the road, if this fishery continues, it has to be an issue that is addressed.

[KAISER]

So I wonder where these young fish go for the winter? you would kind think they would go with the bigger to the GOM.

Kinda like how a middel school dance gets a kid ready for prom night!

Does anyone know a good read on these migrations?

[stew]

Yes. I do. Capt. Eric