There is a chance for skippers to apply for authorisation to target tuna in Ireland on a catch and release basis. The scheme is part of a data collection program during 2020.
Atlantic bluefin tuna, the largest tuna in the world, frequent Irish coastal waters to feed during its annual migration through North Atlantic waters. The bluefin tuna is prized by sea anglers for its power and fighting ability and is a very valuable commercial species.
Building on the success of the Tuna CHART (CatcH And Release Tagging) pilot programme of 2019, a bluefin tuna scientific catch and release fishery for Ireland will operate in 2020. Depending on the successful operation and review of this year’s fishery, it is intended that a scientific catch and release fishery may also operate in 2021 and 2022.
Tagged Bluefin Tuna, Donegal Bay 2019. Copyright Adrian Molloy
In 2020 a maximum of 25 authorisations may be granted to qualifying angling charter vessel skippers around the Irish coast. This scientific catch and release fishery will open on the 1st July and close on the 12th November, without exception.
The Tuna CHART programme is a collaborative scientific programme between Inland Fisheries Ireland and the Marine Institute in partnership with the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment (DCCAE).
In 2019, the Tuna CHART pilot programme authorised 15 charter skippers to operate a scientific fishery, in which anglers participated fully, to catch, tag and release bluefin tuna. These professional skippers were trained to tag, measure and record bluefin data and over the course of the 2019 three month season, 219 bluefin tuna were caught, tagged and released. As many as eight bluefin were tagged on one fishing trip. All tuna were carefully handled subject to strict guidelines set by the Tuna CHART programme and all were released alive. Data from the tagging programme are being collated by the partnership for reporting to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT).
A call for applications for the 2020 fishing season will be announced on 18th February 2020 and the last date for the receipt of a completed application will be 13:00 on the 6th March. Applications can be made at www.fisheriesireland.ie/bluefin
The core aspect of the Tuna CHART programme is the welfare and successful release of the bluefin tuna. Authorised skippers will be required to have high specification rods, reels and line in advance of the open season in order to bring the fish alongside in a timely manner. Data collection for scientific research is the primary purpose of this fishery and will continue to be a key requirement for skipper participation in this scientific catch-and-release fishery. Skippers will be required to collect data on every bluefin trip undertaken and each bluefin tuna they catch, tag and release.
Anglers will have an opportunity to participate in this fishery and contribute to this important scientific study by chartering and fishing from authorised vessels only. Unauthorised vessels are not permitted to target or catch bluefin tuna and any unauthorised person found to be targeting bluefin tuna will be prosecuted.
