Bluefin Tuna Data Collection Programme closes for 2019
Bluefin Tuna Data Collection Programme closes for 2019
Thursday, 14th November 2019: The pilot Bluefin Tuna Data Collection Programme, Tuna CHART, which saw 15 authorised charter angling skippers catch, tag and release Atlantic Bluefin tuna for data collection purposes has now closed for 2019. The authorisations were granted to the skippers who were located in Cork, Clare, Galway, Sligo and Donegal from the 15th of August until the 12th of November 2019.
Bluefin Tuna - Photo by David Morrissey
The pilot project was very successful with 219 fish tagged and released with participants following strict fish safety and handling procedures at all times. The data gathered will support efforts to increase our knowledge of the behaviour and quantity of Bluefin tuna in Irish waters.
As the authorisations have now closed, any person engaging in this fishery will be in breach of the Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction (Bluefin Tuna) Regulations 2019 (S.I. No. 265 of 2019).
The pilot programme was developed by Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) and the Marine Institute (MI) in partnership with the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and the Department for Communications, Climate Action and Environment (DCCAE).
ENDS
