Electronic tagging of Bluefin Tunas from the Maltese spawning ground suggests size-dependent migration dynamics

Type Article
Date 2022-05
Language English
Author(s) Rouyer TristanORCID1, Bernard Serge2, Kerzerho Vincent2, Giordano Nicolas3, Giordano François3, Ellul Salvu4, Ellul Giovanni4, Derridj Olivier1, Canet Remy1, Deguara Simeon5, Wendling Bertrand6, Bonhommeau SylvainORCID7
Affiliation(s) 1 : MARBEC, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, IFREMER, Sète, IRD, France
2 : LIRMM, Univ. Montpellier, CNRS, Montpellier, France
3 : Armement « Saint Sophie François II & III », SARL SSF, 15 Quai d’Alger, 34200, Sète, France
4 : MFF Ltd, Hangar, Marsaxlokk MXK 1522, Triq it – Trunciera, Malta
5 : AquaBioTech Group, ‘Central Complex’, Targa Gap, Naggar Street, Mosta, 1761, MST, Malta
6 : SATHOAN, 29, promenade J.B. Marty, 34200, Sète, France
7 : IFREMER DOI, rue Jean Bertho, 97822, Le Port, La Réunion, France
Source Environmental Biology Of Fishes (0378-1909) (Springer Science and Business Media LLC), 2022-05 , Vol. 105 , N. 5 , P. 635-644
DOI 10.1007/s10641-022-01262-4
WOS© Times Cited 4
Keyword(s) Thunnus thynnus, Electronic tagging, Large-scale migration, Purse seine, Spawning ground
Abstract

The purse seine fishery in the Mediterranean represents about 60% of the international catch for Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus thynnus). Yet, tagging operations from this segment of the fisheries remain rare and despite its potential importance for management, several aspects related to the migratory behavior of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna from these areas remain unaddressed. In the present manuscript, we report the results of two tagging operations carried out on a commercial purse seiner during two consecutive years in the spawning ground around the Maltese islands in the Central Mediterranean Sea. During these operations, eight individuals were tagged and the results showed that the larger fish (> 200 cm) undertook large-scale migrations outside the Mediterranean, whereas smaller individuals did not. This study suggests that size might affect the migratory behavior of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna, and underlines the potential of large-scale tagging operations from spawning grounds to address scientific questions having significant management implications.

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Rouyer Tristan, Bernard Serge, Kerzerho Vincent, Giordano Nicolas, Giordano François, Ellul Salvu, Ellul Giovanni, Derridj Olivier, Canet Remy, Deguara Simeon, Wendling Bertrand, Bonhommeau Sylvain (2022). Electronic tagging of Bluefin Tunas from the Maltese spawning ground suggests size-dependent migration dynamics. Environmental Biology Of Fishes, 105(5), 635-644. Publisher's official version : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-022-01262-4 , Open Access version : https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00768/87952/