Electronic Tagging of Adult Bluefin Tunas by Sport Fishery in the Skagerrak, 2017

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Electronic Tagging of Adult Bluefin Tunas by Sport Fishery in the Skagerrak, 2017 SCRS/2018/164 Collect. Vol. Sci. Pap. ICCAT, 76(2): 650-664 (2020) ELECTRONIC TAGGING OF ADULT BLUEFIN TUNAS BY SPORT FISHERY IN THE SKAGERRAK, 2017 B.R. MacKenzie1*, K. Aarestrup2, K. Birnie-Gauvin2, M. Cardinale3, M. Casini3, I. Harkes4, I. Onandia5, G. Quilez-Badia6, A. Sundelöf3 SUMMARY Bluefin tuna have been seen more frequently in northern European waters near Denmark, Norway and Sweden since especially the mid 2010s, after being very rare or absent since the mid-1960s. The factors leading to the reappearance, and the population origin, of these individuals are presently unknown. New knowledge of how ecosystem variables and fishing affects distribution and migration behaviour is needed, particularly given the re-occurrence of this species in waters long-vacated, but now re-occupied. Here we report preliminary results of an ICCAT GBYP PSAT tagging program for bluefin tuna in the Skagerrak in mid-September 2017. This is the first time that PSAT data storage tags have been applied to bluefin tuna in northern European waters. In total 18 large tunas (mean = 232 cm) were tagged, measured and sampled for genetic studies. The tags were programmed to detach after 1 year; some tags were still attached at time of this report. Tunas were captured by volunteer anglers using rod-reel fishing methods. This report is an edited version of the report submitted to ICCAT as part of contract reporting commitments. RÉSUMÉ Le thon rouge a été observé plus fréquemment dans les eaux du nord de l'Europe près du Danemark, de la Norvège et de la Suède depuis surtout le milieu des années 2010, après avoir été très rare ou absent depuis le milieu des années 1960. Les facteurs menant à la réapparition et l'origine de la population de ces spécimens sont actuellement inconnus. De nouvelles connaissances sur la façon dont les variables écosystémiques et la pêche affectent la distribution et le comportement migratoire sont nécessaires, en particulier compte tenu de la réapparition de cette espèce dans des eaux non fréquentées pendant longtemps , mais maintenant réoccupées. Nous faisons état des résultats préliminaires d'un programme de marquage PSAT du GBYP concernant le thon rouge dans le Skagerrak à la mi-septembre 2017. C'est la première fois que des marques de stockage de données PSAT sont apposées sur du thon rouge dans les eaux du nord de l'Europe. Au total, 18 grands thons (moyenne = 232 cm) ont été marqués, mesurés et échantillonnés pour des études génétiques. Les marques ont été programmées pour se détacher après 1 an; certaines marques étaient encore attachées au moment de ce rapport. Les thons ont été capturés par des pêcheurs à la ligne de manière volontaire au moyen de méthodes de pêche à la canne et moulinet. Ce rapport est une version révisée du rapport soumis à l'ICCAT dans le cadre des engagements relatifs aux rapports à soumettre. RESUMEN El atún rojo se ha visto más frecuentemente en aguas del norte de Europa, cerca de Dinamarca, Noruega y Suecia, especialmente desde mediados de 2010, después de estar ausente o ser muy raro desde mediados de los 60. Actualmente, se desconocen los factores que han conducido a su reaparición y el origen de la población de estos ejemplares. Son necesarios nuevos conocimientos 1 DTU Aqua - National Institute of Aquatic Resources, Technical University of Denmark, DK 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark; *Email: [email protected] 2 DTU Aqua - National Institute of Aquatic Resources, Technical University of Denmark, DK Vejlsoevej 39, DK-8600 Silkeborg, Denmark 3 Institute of Marine Research, Department of Aquatic Resources, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SLU, 45330 Lyskekil, Sweden 4 WWF-Netherlands, Oceans and Coast Programme, PO Box 7, 3700 AA Zeist, The Netherlands 5 AZTI Tecnalia, Marine Research Division, Herrera Kaia Portualdeaz/g,20110 Pasaia, Basque Country, Spain 6 Catalan Association for Responsible Fishing, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain 650 sobre cómo las variables del ecosistema y la pesca afectan a la distribución y al comportamiento migratorio. En este documento informamos sobre los resultados preliminares de un programa de marcado con marcas PSAT del ICCAT-GBYP destinado al atún rojo en el estrecho de Skagerrak a mediados de septiembre de 2017. Esta es la primera vez que las marcas de almacenamiento de datos PSAT se han utilizado en el atún rojo en aguas del norte de Europa. En total se marcaron, midieran y tomaron muestras para análisis genéticos de 18 atunes grandes (media = 232 cm). Las marcas estaban programadas para soltarse tras 1 año y algunas marcas aun permanecen colocadas en el momento de redactar este documento. Los atunes fueron capturados por pescadores voluntarios utilizando métodos de caña y carrete. Este informe es una versión editada del informe presentado a ICCAT como parte de los compromisos contractuales de comunicación. KEYWORDS Bluefin tuna; electronic tagging; PSAT; migrations; habitat; distributions; northern European waters; Skagerrak 1. Introduction This document is a condensed version of the final report to ICCAT (MacKenzie et al., 2017) for a tagging contract to tag bluefin tuna in the Skagerrak-Kattegat in response to the tender offer: Electronic tagging of adult bluefin tunas by sport fishery or hand lines in the North Sea, off the coast of Sweden and/or other countries. (ICCAT GBYP 04/2017 Tagging Programme 2017, Atlantic-wide Research Programme on Bluefin Tuna, ICCAT GBYP-Phase 7). The report describes project activities related to the tagging of bluefin tuna in waters near Denmark and Sweden during September 2017. The report provides an overview of the planning, contact with fishermen, collaboration and the overall results of the tagging operation and related sampling. This is the first time that bluefin tuna have ever been tagged in waters near Denmark and Sweden, and the first time ever that advanced data storage and satellite-transmitting tags have been deployed in waters of northern Europe (i.e., North Sea, Skagerrak, Kattegat, Norwegian Sea). The earliest taggings of bluefin tuna in this region were conducted with conventional (non-data storage) tags by Norwegian scientists in the Norwegian Sea/northern North Sea in the late 1950s and early 1960s (Hamre, 1963; Mather et al., 1995). Bluefin tuna have been rare/absent from the region since the 1960s until the last few years, and neither Denmark nor Sweden have commercial or recreational fishing quotas to catch bluefin tuna. As a result, the project could not obtain bluefin tuna for tagging purposes from commercial fishing operations (e.g., purse seines, traps) as has been done in many other ICCAT tagging projects. Instead this project received a special permission from ICCAT to catch and release bluefin tuna for tagging purposes based on rod-reel fishing. All tunas tagged in this study were caught using rod-reel methods by volunteer anglers. Project objective: The overall objective was to identify migration patterns and population origin of bluefin tuna occurring in Danish and Swedish waters of the Skagerrak. The method to obtain this information was to deploy up to 40 miniPATs (pop-up satellite) tags on bluefin tuna in waters near Denmark and Sweden in 2017. 2. Methods Methodological terms of reference (from ICCAT tender): a) A minimum of 20 miniPATs should be implanted in each area, on adult bluefin tunas; these electronic pop-up tags will be set for the longest possible time frame; the applicators and the miniPATs will be provided by the ICCAT GBYP, along with precise instructions. b) The tender shall specify the period in which the tagging activity will be carried out. c) Rod and reel or hand line shall be the fishing gear to be used for tagging. The vessel time available for this tagging activity by vessel shall be set at a minimum of two weeks. Any in-kind vessel time provided should be clearly mentioned in the offer. (The tagging period was defined by the consortium to be Sept. 8-21, 2017). 651 d) Adult tunas shall be tagged on board or along the side of the boat by expert taggers, possibly removing the hook which was used for fishing them. Tagging operations shall be carried out following the methodology reported by the ICCAT GBYP Tagging Manual. The sequence of tags, pictures and size measures shall be properly recorded for future uses and controls, while the number of each tag and the length (SFL, Total Straight Fork Length) shall be properly recorded on the ICCAT forms. e) A conventional tag shall be implanted on the dorsal part of each fish tagged with electronic tags; conventional tags will be provided by ICCAT GBYP. f) Carry out biological sampling during the tagging activities; biological samples must be collected from the same school of fish, possibly from the same tagged fish if the tagger will be properly equipped; if sampling the tagged fish is not possible, samples should be possibly collected from other fish in the same school. Sampling shall be conducted according to the protocols adopted by the contractor(s) in charge of the biological and genetic sampling and analyses; the samples shall be shipped to the laboratory in charge. g) A Coordinator for tagging activities who has specific experience in electronic tagging on tunas; this tagging Coordinator could be hired under a short-term contract. The Tagging Coordinator, who would work in close, constant contact with the ICCAT GBYP Coordination team, shall be responsible for directly managing all field activities, the scientific team on board, and their training and monitoring; (due to the key relevance of this figure, the Terms of Reference for this position are provided in Annex 1). Planning and organisation of tagging operations: The tagging coordinator appointed to the project was Dr. Gemma Quilez-Badia. The tagging teams comprised the following members: Denmark: Tagging coordinator Dr.
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