The Fate of the BlueFin

[captnemo]

The Disclaimers:

I killed a bluefin this season, I don't judge anyone for killing any fish legally, I support commercial interests who make a living off the sea.

The But:

BUT Why do we as anglers sit here idly watching the Bluefin Tuna collapse in front of our very eyes and do little to help save them? I am guilty, I'm not pointing fingers, just trying to motivate...

The bluefin Tuna will be beyond repair very soon, however we still encourage each other to go kill more...We see their numbers diminishing drastically, so fast in fact that the scientific data cannot keep up...yet we still are killing them.

ICCAT is not taking adequate action as proposed by the US and Canada conservationalists, but that is no excuse for us as the sportsmen and stewards of our playground to not take action ourselves.

How many fish species do we have to push to the brink before we learn that the ONLY action that will save these fish is a total moratorium, for many years.

We have seen the white marlin collapse, striped bass, swordfish, flounder, redfish, snook, tarpon, sharks etc I am sure there are more, but the point is why don't we learn from them.

Why do we volunteerly release white marlin? but turn around and kill bluefins?

Would it be rediculous to say that we as the sportsman should envoke a voluntary release of all bluefin tuna? There is more then plenty of other tuna out there to fill the freezer with!

I don't have the answers, but I really think we should be doing more to help this fishery, because if someone dosen't do something soon, it will be too late.

We cannot wait for ICCAT to make a drastic move to close the fishery, its not going to happen. If there is a active movement that is making progress on the bluefin fishery that I am not aware of, I am all ears.

Any thoughts welcome

[Bluewater Sportfishing]

The Disclaimers:

I killed a bluefin this season, I don't judge anyone for killing any fish legally, I support commercial interests who make a living off the sea.

The But:

BUT Why do we as anglers sit here idly watching the Bluefin Tuna collapse in front of our very eyes and do little to help save them? I am guilty, I'm not pointing fingers, just trying to motivate...

The bluefin Tuna will be beyond repair very soon, however we still encourage each other to go kill more...We see their numbers diminishing drastically, so fast in fact that the scientific data cannot keep up...yet we still are killing them.

ICCAT is not taking adequate action as proposed by the US and Canada conservationalists, but that is no excuse for us as the sportsmen and stewards of our playground to not take action ourselves.

How many fish species do we have to push to the brink before we learn that the ONLY action that will save these fish is a total moratorium, for many years.

We have seen the white marlin collapse, striped bass, swordfish, flounder, redfish, snook, tarpon, sharks etc I am sure there are more, but the point is why don't we learn from them.

Why do we volunteerly release white marlin? but turn around and kill bluefins?

Would it be rediculous to say that we as the sportsman should envoke a voluntary release of all bluefin tuna? There is more then plenty of other tuna out there to fill the freezer with!

I don't have the answers, but I really think we should be doing more to help this fishery, because if someone dosen't do something soon, it will be too late.

We cannot wait for ICCAT to make a drastic move to close the fishery, its not going to happen. If there is a active movement that is making progress on the bluefin fishery that I am not aware of, I am all ears.

Any thoughts welcome

What you say is true and its very disheartning to see such a great fish on the brink of disater. here on the east coast we see a ton Bluefin from little to big, problem is we dont hurt the schools of fish. there is no longer a purse seine fishery for the fish, as of right now there has been 0% of the purse seine qouta caught this year. on the other hand the longliners are making sets and their gear is coming up full of bluefin some live some dont. that is a problem that needs somehow to get fixed..how? dont know. the rod and reel commercial fishermen cant catch the quota because of season closures and of course the dog fish problem. If they were to extend the season down here in MHC into february then we may get a chance to come close to catching the quota which we need to do or we are gonna loose it soon to mexico or some other country.
Now the real problem occurs overseas and it wont go away until ICCAT comes around and enforces their limits they impose on the oversea nations in the med, until that, the Bluefin are screwed because those countries are over exploiting the fishery ten fold. we are the only country that is playing buy the rules and we are paying dearly for it. problem is we could stop fishing right now for the next 20 years and the Bluefin would be in just as bad if not worse shape as it is right now. Catch em while you can......

[captnemo]

Thats a good point, I know we are the minority when it comes to the killing of the bluefins. Its a global problem for sure, but part of the reason we are not meeting out catch qouta is because there are not enough fish to fill it, the data on the fishery can't keep up with NMFS regulations.

[N2theBlue]

All right I'll answer some of your questions from a North Carolina Point of View, then make a general statement about my feelings.

BUT Why do we as anglers sit here idly watching the Bluefin Tuna collapse in front of our very eyes and do little to help save them? I am guilty, I'm not pointing fingers, just trying to motivate...

We're not sitting here idly, but there's not really a whole hell of a lot we can do. In NC we kill barely a 1000 fish a year, and 99.9% of those are sold for some much needed money.

The bluefin Tuna will be beyond repair very soon, however we still encourage each other to go kill more...We see their numbers diminishing drastically, so fast in fact that the scientific data cannot keep up...yet we still are killing them.

If you look at the numbers, what we kill is a drop in the bucket. The majority of the damage i done by europe and asia, specifically Japan, Spain and Italy. Our fish are the same as the stock in the Med, and the Europeans have gone WAAAAYYYYYY over their quota for, well, ever

ICCAT is not taking adequate action as proposed by the US and Canada conservationalists, but that is no excuse for us as the sportsmen and stewards of our playground to not take action ourselves.

ICCAT is the most ineffectual body there is. Nobody but us listens to them.

Why do we volunteerly release white marlin? but turn around and kill bluefins?

Because White Marlin dont bring 5k apiece, and that money comes in VER handy during the winter months on our coast.

Would it be rediculous to say that we as the sportsman should envoke a voluntary release of all bluefin tuna? There is more then plenty of other tuna out there to fill the freezer with!

Bluefin tastes like crap anyway to me and everybody else I've talked to. If we can't sell them we don't kill them

Now, my feeling is that bluefins are going to collapse no matter what unless the world as a whole does something about it. The US kills a paltry amount compared to Europe and Asia, which consistently go over their quota by hundreds of thousands of pounds. Therefore, we might as well take advantage of this fishery while we can.

[Bluewater Sportfishing]

the fish have dwindled no doubt but this is from barbra block just the other day...the main body of fish havent arrived yet and we wont see them from mid to the end of the month. the best fishing will be in february when the season is closed.
barbra is talking to nmfs to extend the season but it wont happen to much burocratic bulshit. Trust me when I say this we are all fed up with this shit but what can we do? nothing sit here and take it and turn a blind eye. as bad as that sounds its really all we can do. NMFS has been fighting with ICCAT for a long time and everytime they speak ICCAT tells them to shut up or loose more quota..thats one of the reasons the head guy quit..he was gunning for ICCAT and they put the brakes on him bad. I would like to see a worldwide moriturium on the Bluefin but money wont allow it to happen. If the fish didnt cross the atlantic then sure we could do our part and have a great fishery but what we save here gets caught there.............

[jbonvetti]

Why do we volunteerly release white marlin? but turn around and kill bluefins?


Just like N2theblue said that fish does not bring 5k, but also with the tackle and tactics now that billfish can be safely released after a 5-10 min fight but i dont think I have seen a 5-10 min bluefin fight...after fighting the fish for an hour+ its tough on the fish and the survival rate decreases and its just a waste in my opinion...

[Fish Biz]

What has been said is 1000% correct. The fact is Med fish markets are filled evry day with small bluefins I mean small a few lbs small go all the wat around the med from portugal to Monte carlo and every country that has a town with a fish market in it probably is selling non sexually mature bluefin. How can ICCAT regulate it has no teeth, even a moratorium would not stop it. Meaningful sanctions from the US is probably the only solution and that will never ever happen. So with that being said Enjoy the fishery while you can, only take what you can use or sell( if thats how you feed the family).
As far as plenty of other tuna in the sea to catch I guess your not from NJ canyons. Yellowfin were non existant and the long fin bite was short lived due to weather. My .02 cents not that it matters Thanks Tim

[jbonvetti]

The yellowfin bite was non-existant in the canyons but showed no change from last year in the carolinas...

[Fishfinder]

The survival rate on a bluefin tuna that has been fought for a long period of time is actually very high. Barbara has proved that a bluefin tuna can take extreme amounts of stress. After a 1 hr struggle the Tag-A-Giant crew will take a bluefin , lip gaff the fish, pull it into the tag boat, cut open its stomach, sew a archival tag into its belly, release the fish and over 99 % of the fish survive. Barbara's studies have proved and disproved many different facts about the bluefins. It is a shame that ICCAT is just like the UN. Both organizations are intrusted to save and protect on a international field. Both are the most useless organtzations that have ever been constructed. Neither one have the teeth it takes to inforce any rules and regualtions. I think that both should be disband. All either one do is create controversy and have never corrected a problem. Unfortunately the bluefin tuna will still be decimated and killed whether we stop fishing on them or not! Until the Europeons and the Orential markets adhere to the ICCAT limits that have been imposed, nothing will save the bluefins! When purse seiners kill bluefins form 20 lbs. to 1000 lbs. by the thousands and don't release any, exceed their quots by thousands of tons, nothing will change! AS far as the seasons here in the US, I can't believe that the powers to be change the season to run from January 1 thru December 31st, yet close the season at the end of January and reopen it the first of June is the stupidest thing I have ever heard of. This year our February season is problably going to be the best it has been in the last 15 years. We have a Quota system that the US has not come close to filling in the last 15 years, yet the NMF will close the season when there are plenty of bluefins close to the beach here is NC and when the market value is the highest that is has ever been, ever! This is our government officials at their best. When they are wanting to stimulate the economy and help people make more money, here is their chance to make a difference. But, do you think this will happen? I doubt it! Lobbist that have the NMF's ear should already be proding these represenatives to extend our season thru February an even March if the quote is not filled. They are still managing fishermen instead of the fisheries. It is a disgrace to the US fishermen that work very hard on the water to scratch out a living, to have this teremendous fisheries just a few miles off the beach and to have the government say sorry, you can't kill these fish now, we would rather you wait till June when the prices are down and they are harder to access. The government can bail out the big organizations full of dishonest bankers and businessmen that they know are screwing the general public, buth they won't let an honest fisherman try and make a few dollars when the dollars and tuna are available.

Everyone has one, and this is just my opinion!

Capt. Joe Shute

[Fishfinder]

AS far as yellowfin fishing here isn NC, it was non-existant here this year in the Morehead City area. Hopefully it will change this year, but for the last 3 years we have had no yellowfins to speak of.

Capt. Joe