Bluefin in the Gulf - Ground Zero Oil Spill

Northeast and northwest spawning grounds for Bluefin tuna in the Gulf were at ground zero for Americas worst oil spill on record.

And the fallout is just beginning.

Underwater Times

PARIS, France -- The Gulf of Mexico oil spill couldn't have occurred at a worse time for bluefin tuna: they had come to the area – a major spawning ground – to produce offspring. Satellites are helping assess the damage from the disaster on the fish's spawning habitat.

The majestic Atlantic bluefin tuna, among the largest fish able to grow the size of a Volkswagen Beetle, come to the Gulf yearly from January to June. Their peak spawning time in the Gulf is April and May – just when some 10 million litres of oil a day was pouring into the water following the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig on 20 April.

The commercially valuable fish spawn in surface waters, with females releasing eggs and males following behind to fertilize them. The presence of surface oil could harm eggs, larvae and even adults. With the western Atlantic tuna population's spawning stock declining by 82% over the last 30 years, it is imperative they spawn without disturbance.

Complete Story.

MEDIA ADVISORY: Bluefin Tuna Larvae Scientists Return from Gulf Loop Current Research Mission

THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI

Gulf Coast Research Laboratory

MEDIA ADVISORY

5/26/2010

Bluefin Tuna Larvae Scientists Return from Gulf Loop Current Research Mission

WHAT: Researchers Jim Franks and Dr. Bruce Comyns with the Southern Miss Gulf Coast Research Laboratory return from a 12-day research expedition to the Gulf of Mexico loop current to collect samples of larvae of the bluefin tuna, one of the ocean’s most threatened fish.

WHEN: Thursday, May 27, 10 a.m.

WHERE: Dockside at berth of RV Tommy Munro, Point Cadet Marina; Biloxi, Miss.

SPECIFICS: Funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service, researchers traveled to the loop current to collect samples of larvae, which is the most vulnerable life-stage of bluefin tuna. Bluefin tuna spawn in only two places in the western hemisphere — the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. Bluefin tuna larvae are in a precarious situation due to the position and magnitude of the oil-affected waters following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the northern Gulf of Mexico.

Southern Miss President Martha Saunders has assembled an Oil Spill Response Team that is coordinating the university’s response to the incident in the Gulf. Scientists, faculty, staff and students from GCRL, Stennis Space Center, plus the Gulf Park and Hattiesburg campuses are working with federal, state, and private agencies to monitor the spill and, to the extent possible, manage and mitigate its impacts on the Gulf Coast.

For more information on the Oil Spill Response Team visit http://www.usm.edu/oilspill.

RESEARCH CONTACT: Chris Snyder: 228.365.3386.

www.usm.edu/gcrl

“It’s like playing cricket with hand grenades”

With that memorable quote one of the most remarkable announcements in fisheries conservation was broadcast the planet this week, as maverick tuna baron Hagen Stehr told the world his team had Bluefin Tuna breeding in captivity.

Worldwide tuna stocks are down 70-80% as massive netting operations capture the last remaining tuna, netting in some cases 100% of the school.

The 60 million dollar Australian gamble to raise this valuable species in captivity has seen its share of set backs and disappointments with many "tuna pundits" saying it could not be done.

You can always bet on an Australian to come up with a solution to almost any problem.

Kudos.

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Sushi for Great Whites

Isla Guadalupe as you know, is simply "infested" with great white sharks. This is the last place on the planet you want to be taking a morning swim.

Which makes fishing for Yellowfin tuna here nearly impossible. What you are looking at is an 80lb tuna caught a few seasons ago who was having a really, really bad day.

The single shark bite from this tuna took almost 40lbs of prime grade sushi away (click image). The shark in question was about 14 feet long. Not huge by Guadalupe standards but an impressive critter none the less.

Monster Bluefin Tuna? New Zealand's The Place

The crew from TOPP's have been toiling away for the past few years in New Zealand, tagging monster bluefin tuna.

Turns out they are not the only ones interested in some of the last stocks of these magnificent animals left on the planet.

Bluefin are some of the rarest and most valuable tuna on the market with some animals fetching upwards of $80,000...for one fish!

Tuna is also the favorite food of great whites at Isla Guadalupe where the mighty bluefin were once as plentiful as sardines at this dive site.

Here's the local story. The picture features a guy who's been eating nothing but bluefin for his entire life and now has the strength of 12 men.

O.K, that part was an onion, but the rest of the story is pretty amazing, now where did we put that fishing gear?