2 October 2013
Canada
As Prince Edward Island’s (P.E.I) initial two week tuna fishing season has drawn to a close, the Tignish bluefin fishery in Canada will begin its second season this Friday, and P.E.I. fishermen expect that over 18 tons of bluefin could still be available to land. The first season saw the fishery catch just over 107 tons of its 125.979 ton fleet allocation.
The season opened on July 15 with all 359 members of the P.E.I. fleet plus the native council eligible to obtain one tag per boat.
As usual, most participants choose to wait until late in the allocation period to utilize their tag, banking on the tuna bulking up on nearby feeding grounds. A spokesman at Royal Star said on Monday that the fish landed late in the season were, indeed, larger than those hooked early in the summer.
The majority of bluefin landed in Tignish so far this year have been sold by auction, often to the Japanese market. It is thought that practically all of the fishermen who participated in the fishery this year were successful in landing a tuna.
Interested fishermen had to register for the second phase of tuna fishing and a draw for the remaining tags has taken place. Once the fishery re-opens on Friday, fishermen will only have until the remaining allocation is reached to land a tuna. Those who are not successful will not be reimbursed for their unused tags.
