More Bluefin Tuna In Southern Indian Oceanff

Scientists believe there could be more Bluefin Tuna in the Southern Indian Ocean than previously thought.

The tuna are born near Indonesia and migrate down the coast of Western Australia and to the Southern Ocean in summer.

CSIRO Researcher Alistair Hobday has been studying the juvenile tuna for the past seven years and tracking their distribution and movements.

Dr. Hobday says recently he discovered only part of the tuna population migrates past Albany in summer, when the CSIRO monitors the fish.

He says the challenge now is to discover where the rest of the population goes.

”We released fish in WA near Fremantle and also near the Chattum Islands and then around Albany, and so far, none of the fish from the Fremantle region migrate around the corner into Southern Australia and that’s a very interesting result,” he said.

Commercial fisherman, Peter Westerberg, sold his tuna fishing license in the 1980s when the Federal Government slashed quotas because it feared tuna stocks would collapse.

Mr. Westerberg says, if scientists prove there are more tuna in the sea, he would like his quota back.

”Because of the scientific reports and all that, they reduced our quotas to such an extent that we weren’t viable anymore, so that was the end of it for us,” he said.

”If the quotas were incorrect when they were handed out I suppose we’d love to have a bit back.”