29 October 2002
New Caledonia
Yesterday, the Korean representative, Byung-yun Park, handed over the amount of USD 100,000 for the pilot tagging study of South Pacific Bigeye tuna. The money was given to Dr. Jimmie Rodgers, Senior Deputy Director General for the Secretariat of the Pacific Community.
The pilot Bigeye tuna-tagging project is a research project that will be implemented by the Secretariat’s Oceanic Fisheries Programme based at the organisation’s headquarters in Noumea, New Caledonia.
The study will be conducted in close collaboration with Tonga Fishery using a charter vessel, experienced personnel on fishing and tagging, and covering well known areas of tuna aggregation in Tongan waters.
The project aims to tag and release up to 3,000 small/medium sized Bigeye tuna caught through long-line fishing.
The funds will enable the SPC Oceanic Fisheries Programme to use the latest technology archival and satellite pop-up tags on Bigeye tuna, which will provide a wealth of new information about the migration and vertical movement patterns of Bigeye tuna.
The obtained research data will be incorporated into stock assessment models. The information will be of considerable interest to the tuna long-line industry, as it will determine how deep fishermen should be setting their gear to effectively target Bigeye tuna.
