THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 17, 1995 TAG: 9512170154
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: KILL DEVIL HILLS LENGTH: Long : 113 lines
If predictions hold water, the next month could bring the best bluefin tuna fishing ever along North Carolina's southern Outer Banks.
At least 65 charter boats already are lined up at Hatteras Island marinas. The Morehead City fleet has been gearing up to travel north.
And more than 70 recreational anglers, commercial watermen, marina managers, biologists and fisheries managers from across the eastern seaboard gathered at the oceanfront Ramada Inn of Kill Devil Hills Saturday to discuss the state - and fate - of the giant trophy fish.
``This fishery is in its infancy in Hatteras. But on the biggest day last year, we had at least 45 boats out there on the ocean - sometimes, all with bluefins on the line,'' Buxton tackle shop owner Bob Eakes said during the eight-hour conference sponsored by Sea Grant and the National Marine Fisheries Service.
``Those fish were in the 250- to 400-pound range. We even saw a few 600s. And it's about to start again, within the next two weeks,'' said Eakes.
Hatteras charter boat captain Walt Spruill agreed. ``Hatteras is full now,'' he said. ``All the sloops are about taken up. It's gonna be big this year.''
Eric Prince, of the National Marine Fisheries Service, added, ``Basically, we're looking at a circus with all the increased popularity of, interest in, and abundance of this fishery.''
Among the Atlantic's largest fish - and one of the few warm-blooded fish in any ocean - bluefin tuna live to be 30 years old, can swim 25 miles in eight hours, travel from the rocky coast of Maine to the Gulf of Mexico's warm waters in a single breeding season, sometimes weigh upwards of 1,000 pounds, and fetch as much as $40,000 per fish in Japanese seafood markets - about $40 a bite in Tokyo sushi restaurants.
Most American seafood consumers, however, turn their noses up at bluefin, which are much oiler than the flaky oft-eaten yellowfin tuna.
Although the profitable pelagics have been documented off North Carolina's coast and as far south as Bermuda for a half-century, giant bluefin tuna have not schooled in abundance south of Virginia - until recently.
Eakes alone tagged and released more than 300 of the fighting fish off Hatteras and Ocracoke islands last winter. During a 20-minute video he showed, hundreds of bluefins leapt from the rough water and splashed along the boat chasing bait.
Anglers fishing off the Outer Banks returned receipts from 750 tags they had stuck in the giant fish last year. National fisheries officials estimate that hundreds of additional bluefins were tagged and released - but the receipts were not returned.
Only 11 of the valuable fish were kept, one federal fisheries manager said. Commercial watermen said fewer than six were sold.
Recreational anglers cannot keep a giant bluefin until the season re-opens Jan. 1, and then only one per year per boat, until a coast-wide quota is met. The 1995 quota shut down this month.
But with a special permit - and federal instruction kit - anglers can tag and release the coveted species any time, any where.
Commercial fishermen are allowed to keep one fish per boat per day only from June 1 through Dec. 31, until they catch a total of 2,200 metric tons coast-wide. Bluefin tuna swim off the northern states in the summer. They school off North Carolina's warmer shores from January through March.
So Outer Banks commercial watermen have virtually been shut out of the high-dollar industry.
``They're building a record of fish in that area, which will help when they argue for a portion of the quota,'' National Marine Fisheries Service spokesman Dick Stone said after Saturday's conference.
Most discussions centered on the recreational tag-and-release program, which is growing as quickly as bluefin populations along Hatteras Island. National fisheries officials urged anglers to keep careful records and mail in receipts of their catches so that better biological data can be gathered. They instructed fishermen on the best way to reel in, tag, and release a bluefin.
And they admitted that they are still struggling to discover the answers to many important questions about how to best manage the species.
``We need to know everything we can about this fishery - and about the fishermen, too,'' Stone said. ``Where are the bluefin going when they leave here? What are they doing? We want to monitor this fishery a lot more rigorously this year than we have in the past.''
Beginning Jan. 1, Coast Guard stations at Hatteras Village, Ocracoke Island and Oregon Inlet all will carry federally approved bluefin tags to make it easier for anglers to comply with national regulating programs. The National Marine Fisheries Service will mail tagging kits to prospective bluefin tuna permit holders. And North Carolina's Sea Grant program will offer advice on catching and releasing the huge fish.
Federal fisheries experts said they did not know what effects hooking, fighting, reeling in, tagging and releasing a 400-pound fish might have on the creature's chance to survive. They cannot predict what percentage of recreationally caught bluefin tuna survive.
Eakes tagged and released one bluefin tuna in under three minutes. Some anglers have fought the fish for almost three hours.
` To catch a bluefin, Eakes recommended casting 130-pound test line and sitting in a chair mounted to the boat's deck. Two-inch diameter, full-circle hooks are better for the fish and safer around boats' cockpits on stormy days, he said. For best results, use 45 to 50 pounds of pressure on the drag.
Menhaden make the best bait, he said, although the giant fish don't seem to be very picky. One watermen said a friend of his caught bluefin on a hot dog, beer can and piece of chicken.
For the least damage to the bluefin, biologists recommended tagging the fish in the thickest part of its shoulder, above the dark lateral line on its side, away from its head and gills. ``Go for the middle of the body,'' Prince said. ``Tag it near the second dorsal fin. And wait for a good shot. Take your time. And get it right.''
Fishermen recommended buying a de-hooking tool to remove hooks from the bluefins' mouths before releasing them. Federal officials urged anglers to report any fish they catch that already have tags in them.
And everyone seemed excited about the pending arrival of their favorite fish.
``It's exciting. It's spectacular. It's easy,'' Eakes said. ``And it's almost here.'' by CNB