After tuna season reopens, anglers catch 75kg

The second part of the Atlantic Bluefin tuna season opened last week, with anglers so far catching 75kg of the three tonne limit.

The season opened last June with a 25-tonne quota with the Department of Environment reviewing a mechanism to regulate the commercial sale of locally caught tuna.

Gibraltar’s tuna season is divided into two phases, the first focused on larger fish and the second on smaller specimens.

The first part of the quota had been set at 22 tonnes for the period June 16 to July 25, and was suspended early on July 3 as the limit had been reached.

The second part opened on August 6 and is set to close on October 14, unless the quota is reached beforehand.

Sport fishing is permitted locally, but there is no regulation for a commercial fishery.

Anglers are also capped at catching one fish per day per licence holder and vessel this year.

A Government spokesman has previously told the Chronicle that regulation regarding the commercial sale of the prized fish “is still being reviewed by the Department of the Environment together with partner authorities”.

According to Government statistics, the first part of the tuna season closed with anglers catching a tonne over the quota.

The first part of the quota was set at 22 tonnes, and instead a total of 23.6 tonnes was caught.

The Government confirmed some 120 tunas were caught by 66 fishermen.

The largest tuna caught so far this year was 323kg and one fisherman caught six fish weighing a total of 1.3 tonnes.

Gibraltar follows International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) guidelines.

Internationally, the Bluefin fishery is managed by ICCAT, which for years has implemented strict conservation policies that have helped stocks recover.

Gibraltar is not part of ICCAT but follows its guidelines.

Over the years, local anglers have said that Bluefin stocks have recovered after years of pressure and that tuna are caught in Gibraltar waters by sport fishermen in a sustainable manner that has a negligible impact on the species.

But environmental groups locally have continued to air their concern.

The groups have repeatedly called for tighter controls and maintain that the highly valued species has been overfished.