Malta visit offers new insight into Bluefin tuna behaviour

A team from The Nautilus Project are in Malta where part of their trip saw them enter the water with schools of Atlantic bluefin tuna where they observed the fish’s behaviour, condition and schooling patterns at close range.

An experience they said was: “hard to put into words.”

“These fish cross entire ocean basins and hit speeds few things in the sea can match, and being that close to a school of them moving together is something else.”

Adding that getting in the water with them like this was a genuine opportunity for the team to study behaviour, condition, and how they school.

Marine biologist with TNP Lewis Stagnetto noted that: “ABT took a serious hit from historic overfishing, so every bit of observation helps us understand where the species actually stands.”

“This is why we do in-water research at Nautilus, you learn things about an animal up close that you just can't get any other way.”

Later during their visit to Malta, Brian Soiza, Melanie Soiza Stagnetto and Mr Stagnetto spent the morning at Aquatic Resources Malta’s facility in Marsaxlokk.

The national agency for aquaculture and fisheries research is based at Fort San Luċjan.

The team also visited an area of the facility dedicated to the Killifish Conservation Project.

“The bit that stuck with us most was the tank space given over to the Killifish Conservation Project, a joint effort with Nature Trust Malta and Malta's Environment and Resources Authority to pull the Bużaqq (Aphanius fasciatus), Malta's national fish, back from the edge at il-Magħluq ta' Marsascala,” said Mr Stagnetto.

“Captive breeding, habitat work, public education, all happening in the same building.”

“Standing there watching it all in motion, it's easy to forget how much of what keeps a fishery or a species going starts in a tank exactly like these.”

The team thanked the Aquatic Resources Malta team for providing access to the facility and answering questions during the visit.

“This the kind of morning that reminds us why we got into this in the first place,” Mr Stagnetto added.