Results of pop-up satellite tagging of spawning size class fish in the Gulf of Maine: do North Atlantic bluefin tuna spawn in the mid-Atlantic?

Twenty giant bluefin tuna were captured in September and October 1997 and tagged and released with pop-up satellite tags programmed to jettison from March through July, 1998. Seventeen tags successfully released from the fish (12 during the known May-July spawning period), all of which were located north of 33°N latitude, in a region of the mid-Atlantic bounded by Bermuda and the Azores. Our results argue for reconsideration of current assumptions about North Atlantic bluefin tuna migration patterns, mixing rates, spawning areas, and stock structure and highlight the need for additional studies.

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Combining genetic markers with stable isotopes in otoliths reveals complexity in the stock structure of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus)

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-020-71355-6 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Deirdre Brophy ◽

Naiara Rodríguez-Ezpeleta ◽

Igaratza Fraile ◽

Haritz Arrizabalaga

Keyword(s):

Genetic Markers ◽

Bluefin Tuna ◽

Integrated Model ◽

Stock Structure ◽

Thunnus Thynnus ◽

Integrated Method ◽

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna ◽

Spawning Areas ◽

Otolith Core ◽

First Year Of Life

Abstract Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) from the two main spawning populations in the Mediterranean and Gulf of Mexico occur together in the western, central and eastern Atlantic. Stock composition of catches from mixing areas is uncertain, presenting a major challenge to the sustainable management of the fisheries. This study combines genetic and chemical markers to develop an integrated method of population assignment. Stable isotope signatures (δ13C and δ18O) in the otolith core of adults from the two main spawning populations (adult baselines) showed less overlap than those of yearlings (12–18 months old) from western and eastern nursery areas suggesting that some exchange occurs towards the end of the yearling phase. The integrated model combined δ18O with four genetic markers (SNPs) to distinguish the adult baselines with greater accuracy than chemical or genetic markers alone. When used to assign individuals from the mixing areas to their population of origin, the integrated model resolved some (but not all) discrepancies between the chemistry and genetic methods. Some individuals in the mixing area had otolith δ18O values and genetic profiles which when taken together, were not representative of either population. These fish may originate from another Atlantic spawning area or may represent population contingents that move away from the main spawning areas during the first year of life. This complexity in stock structure is not captured by the current two-stock model.

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From Individuals to Local Population Densities: Movements of North Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus Thynnus) in the Gulf of Maine/Northwestern Atlantic

Reviews: Methods and Technologies in Fish Biology and Fisheries - Electronic Tagging and Tracking in Marine Fisheries ◽

10.1007/978-94-017-1402-0_23 ◽

2001 ◽

pp. 421-441 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Nathaniel Newlands ◽

Molly Lutcavage

Keyword(s):

North Atlantic ◽

Gulf Of Maine ◽

Local Population ◽

Bluefin Tuna ◽

Thunnus Thynnus ◽

Population Densities ◽

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna

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Complex migration routes of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) question current population structure paradigm

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f10-033 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 67 (6) ◽

pp. 966-976 ◽

Cited By ~ 95

Author(s):

Benjamin Galuardi ◽

François Royer ◽

Walt Golet ◽

John Logan ◽

John Neilson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Site Fidelity ◽

Bluefin Tuna ◽

Thunnus Thynnus ◽

Migration Routes ◽

Western Atlantic ◽

Spawning Period ◽

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna ◽

Spawning Site ◽

Archival Tags ◽

Spawning Areas

Movements of Atlantic bluefin tuna ( Thunnus thynnus , ABFT) from specific western Atlantic forage grounds are not well described, and the extent of their spawning areas is mainly surmised. In 2005 and 2006, we deployed 41 pop-up satellite archival tags (PSATs) on adult Atlantic bluefin tuna off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, and on Georges Bank. During the assumed spawning period, 56% of the tagged ABFT occupied a known spawning area, while 44% were located in distant oceanic regions. Assuming obligate annual spawning, these results are inconsistent with the notion of spawning site fidelity to the Gulf of Mexico. The ocean-wide migrations of adult ABFT tagged on a common forage ground suggest evidence of a metapopulation requiring more spatially explicit management than the current simple two-stock structure.

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Regarding Newlands, N.K., Lutcavage, M.E., Pitcher, T.J. (2006) Atlantic bluefin tuna in the Gulf of Maine, I: Estimation of seasonal abundance accounting for movement, school and school-aggregation behaviour. Environmental Biology of Fishes 77:177–195 Newlands, N.K., Lutcavage, M.E., Pitcher, T.J. (2007) Atlantic bluefin tuna in the Gulf of Maine, II: precision of sampling designs in estimating seasonal abundance accounting for tuna behaviour. Environmental Biology of Fishes 78:000–000

Environmental Biology of Fishes ◽

10.1007/s10641-007-9238-1 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 82 (1) ◽

pp. 9-10

Author(s):

Molly E. Lutcavage

Keyword(s):

Gulf Of Maine ◽

Bluefin Tuna ◽

Seasonal Abundance ◽

Environmental Biology ◽

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna ◽

Aggregation Behaviour

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Changes in the Distribution of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus thynnus) in the Gulf of Maine 1979-2005

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0075480 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 8 (9) ◽

pp. e75480 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Walter J. Golet ◽

Benjamin Galuardi ◽

Andrew B. Cooper ◽

Molly E. Lutcavage

Keyword(s):

Gulf Of Maine ◽

Bluefin Tuna ◽

Thunnus Thynnus ◽

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna

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A new satellite technology for tracking the movements of Atlantic bluefin tuna

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.95.16.9384 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 95 (16) ◽

pp. 9384-9389 ◽

Cited By ~ 118

Author(s):

Barbara A. Block ◽

Heidi Dewar ◽

Charles Farwell ◽

Eric D. Prince

Keyword(s):

Bluefin Tuna ◽

Commercial Fisheries ◽

Stock Structure ◽

Technology Study ◽

Critical Test ◽

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna ◽

Satellite Technology ◽

Thermal Niche ◽

Large Size ◽

Satellite Tag

The movements of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus thynnus) have captured the interest of scientists and fishers since the time of Aristotle. This tuna is unique among bony fish for maintaining elevated body temperatures (21°C above ambient) and attaining large size (up to 750 kg). We describe here the use of a pop-off satellite tag, for investigating the Atlantic-wide movements and potential stock overlap of western and eastern Atlantic bluefin tuna. The tag also archives data on water temperatures. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effectiveness of the technology, study the movements of Atlantic bluefin tuna, examine their thermal niche, and assess survivorship of tagged fish. The pop-off satellite technology provides data independent of commercial fisheries that, when deployed in sufficient quantity, should permit a critical test of the stock structure hypotheses for Atlantic bluefin tuna.

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Projections of future habitat use by Atlantic bluefin tuna: mechanistic vs. correlative distribution models

ICES Journal of Marine Science ◽

10.1093/icesjms/fsw215 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 74 (3) ◽

pp. 698-716 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Barbara A. Muhling ◽

Richard Brill ◽

John T. Lamkin ◽

Mitchell A. Roffer ◽

Sang-Ki Lee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

North Atlantic ◽

Species Distribution Model ◽

Bluefin Tuna ◽

Distribution Model ◽

Balance Model ◽

Oxygen Balance ◽

Spatiotemporal Resolution ◽

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna ◽

Fishing Fleets

Climate change is likely to drive complex shifts in the distribution and ecology of marine species. Projections of future changes may vary, however, depending on the biological impact model used. In this study, we compared a correlative species distribution model and a simple mechanistic oxygen balance model for Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus: ABFT) in the North Atlantic Ocean. Both models gave similar results for the recent historical time period, and suggested that ABFT generally occupy favourable metabolic habitats. Projections from an earth system model showed largely temperature-induced reductions in ABFT habitat in the tropical and sub-tropical Atlantic by 2100. However, the oxygen balance model showed more optimistic results in parts of the subpolar North Atlantic. This was partially due to an inherent ability to extrapolate beyond conditions currently encountered by pelagic longline fishing fleets. Projections included considerable uncertainty due to the simplicity of the biological models, and the coarse spatiotemporal resolution of the analyses. Despite these limitations, our results suggest that climate change is likely to increase metabolic stress on ABFT in sub-tropical habitats, but may improve habitat suitability in subpolar habitats, with implications for spawning and migratory behaviours, and availability to fishing fleets.

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Mixed stock origin of Atlantic bluefin tuna in the U.S. rod and reel fishery (Gulf of Maine) and implications for fisheries management

Fisheries Research ◽

10.1016/j.fishres.2019.105461 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 224 ◽

pp. 105461

Author(s):

Lisa A. Kerr ◽

Zachary T. Whitener ◽

Steven X. Cadrin ◽

Molly R. Morse ◽

David H. Secor ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fisheries Management ◽

Gulf Of Maine ◽

Bluefin Tuna ◽

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna ◽

Mixed Stock ◽

The U.S

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Tracking Atlantic bluefin tuna from foraging grounds off the west coast of Ireland

ICES Journal of Marine Science ◽

10.1093/icesjms/fsaa090 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 77 (6) ◽

pp. 2066-2077

Author(s):

Thomas W Horton ◽

Barbara A Block ◽

Alan Drumm ◽

Lucy A Hawkes ◽

Macdara O’Cuaig ◽

...

Keyword(s):

North Atlantic ◽

West Coast ◽

Time Series Data ◽

Fork Length ◽

Bluefin Tuna ◽

Series Data ◽

Future Research ◽

The West ◽

Northeast Atlantic ◽

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna

Abstract Pop-up archival tags (n = 16) were deployed on Atlantic bluefin tuna (ABT) off the west coast of Ireland in October and November 2016 (199–246 cm curved fork length), yielding 2799 d of location data and 990 and 989 d of depth and temperature time-series data, respectively. Most daily locations (96%, n = 2651) occurred east of 45°W, the current stock management boundary for ABT. Key habitats occupied were the Bay of Biscay and the Central North Atlantic, with two migratory patterns evident: an east-west group and an eastern resident group. Five out of six tags that remained attached until July 2017 returned to the northeast Atlantic after having migrated as far as the Canary Islands, the Mediterranean Sea (MEDI) and the Central North Atlantic. Tracked bluefin tuna exhibited a diel depth-use pattern occupying shallower depths at night and deeper depths during the day. Four bluefin tuna visited known spawning grounds in the central and western MEDI, and one may have spawned, based on the recovered data showing oscillatory dives transecting the thermocline on 15 nights. These findings demonstrate the complexity of the aggregation of ABT off Ireland and, more broadly in the northeast Atlantic, highlighting the need for dedicated future research to conserve this important aggregation.

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