Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Tagging Programme in Ireland 2016

Abstract

It is important that stock origin, habitat utilisation and large-scale movement patterns of Atlantic bluefin are characterised in detail to ensure that the population models and concepts used in Atlantic bluefin tuna stock assessment and Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) are parameterised as accurately as possible.

Investigation of the distribution and movements of Atlantic bluefin tuna in Irish waters is now a priority for Ireland. The ocean waters off south Donegal are now regarded by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) as an important area for Atlantic bluefin tuna and indications are that significant numbers arrive in the area over the period August to November each year. The Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine (DAFM) requested that the Marine Institute carry out a bluefin tagging programme in autumn 2016 to support the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) Grand Bluefin Year Programme (GBYP) Atlantic research programme for Bluefin tuna.