Source: Europa Press
A total of 8 different research studies are being developed in Spain aiming to improve the understanding of bluefin tuna, as a species, and also to start up projects and actions to recover their conservation.
The parties involved in the new study are the High Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO), the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas ( ICCAT), the Institute for Research and Communication Technologies Agrifood (IRTA) and the University of Cádiz in collaboration with Balfego Group.
Specifically, the CSIC is researching the reproductive behavior of tuna in their natural breeding areas in the Balearic fishing ground. The institute has already proven that tuna spawn in their normal manner while in transport cages, where they are kept until they are moved to the tuna fattening farms at the L’Ametlla de Mar facilities. The following CSIC project will study the procedures for the development of larvae in captivity.
According to Ana Gordoa, CSIC researcher and director of this study, “to expand our knowledge regarding reproduction and early life of tuna will help minimize the impact of fishing on spawning and subsequent larval development. At the same time we want progress in breeding individuals in captivity in accordance with environmental criteriaâ€.
Balfegó together with the IEO are completing these studies with their joint investigation on larval ecology, behavior and drift of larvae in their natural environment; a vital aspect to know the optimal circumstances for the development and viability of tuna offspring. They are also researching how bluefin tuna larvae is cultivated in land-based facilities.
The University of Cadiz is responsible for the unraveling the bluefin tuna’s fate once it has left the Mediterranean. To enable the research, the Balfego Group has supplied 19 large reproducing tuna which have been tagged this year. And once they are freed from the electronic tags that have been inserted with, the research team will be able to analyze the post-reproductive migration pattern .
Through the understanding of the migration patterns of the species, which currently have long gaps, it is entirely necessary to ensure that a more sustainable fisheries management of the species. “Because of the tuna fishing decline and the implementation of strict bans it is difficult to obtain sufficient data on the abundance of the species,†explained José Luis Cort, from the IEO.
The CSIC, in collaboration with Balfegó , is studying the evolution of the fluefin tuna resources in the Balearic Islands, from the indices of fishing activity . The ICCAT, with the support of the IEO and Balfegó, has launched a project to detect schools of reproducing tuna in their spawning areas, by aerial observation, which aims to establish an alternative analysis index of the status of the species.