THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 29, 1996 TAG: 9603290467
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY CATHERINE KOZAK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HATTERAS LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines
Speculation about giant bluefin tuna dying by the dozens after being caught and released are completely unfounded, a U.S government marine biologist said Thursday.
A submerged vessel that scanned the floor of the ocean detected only shark parts and cut bait where bluefin corpses would have been if they were dying after being released, said Ron Rinaldo, a fisheries biologist with the Highly Migratory Species division of the National Marine Fisheries Service.
``We were able to see a lot down there, so we know if the bluefin tuna were down there, we would be able to see them,'' Rinaldo said. ``The bottom line is there was no evidence of dead tunas on the bottom.''
Joe Morris, the general manager of Teach's Lair, a Hatteras marina, said he received some phone calls starting last winter from ``commercial people up north'' accusing Hatteras waterman of ``killing their fish.''
Morris said talk had it that so many tuna perished after being caught, tagged and released by local watermen that divers spotted up to 30 fish dead on the ocean floor. The wildest rumors claimed so many died they stacked up like firewood.
In March 1995, divers searched the waters around the wreck of the Proteus, about 25 miles from Hatteras Inlet, and the wreck of the Dixie Arrow, about 18 miles off the inlet, Morris said. The wrecks are a favorite gathering spot for the tuna. No signs of dead tuna were found then, he said.
Last week the underwater vessel came up with the same findings.
``Recreational fishing is not hurting the bluefin population, not one little bit,'' Morris said. ``How these rumors got started, no one knows. I guess it's jealousy.''
It could be that the rumor mill has been fueled by heightened commercial stakes. Thousands of the giants have taken a liking to Hatteras the last several winters, attracting hundreds of anglers eager to fight one of the huge fish, said a marine conservationist.
And some bluefin tuna, which can live 37 years and weigh up to 1,800 pounds, have reportedly been sold to Japan for as much as $60,000 for a single fish. More typically, one fish could be worth between $10,000 and $40,000.
Much of the 1,311 metric tons per year of bluefin that U.S. quotas allow is caught in New England during the commercial bluefin season, which runs from June through October, said Ken Hinman, president of the National Coalition for Marine Conservationists.
``I think the New England fishermen are probably exaggerating, and the Hatteras fishermen are probably believing the best reports,'' Hinman said Thursday from his Leesburg, Va., office.
Hinman said there is no evidence to suggest that hundreds of tuna have been killed, but he also said it is reasonable to conclude that some fish may have been injured in the tagging process.
Hatteras watermen have voluntarily been tacking a spaghetti-sized fluorescent orange tag onto the giants' backs after hooking them. By using heavy tackle and circle hooks, the fishermen minimalize injury to the powerful fish. The tuna is let go as soon as the tag is in place.
``I think anyone who says there is zero mortality is wrong,'' Hinman said. ``There has to be some mortality.''
But fisheries biologist Rinaldo said all indications are that the tuna are suffering no harm from the tagging program.
``We searched where the (charter boat) fleet has been fishing for the last month, 35 miles south of the inlet,'' he said. ``We searched a total of almost six miles of the ocean floor.
``We were out there three consecutive days with the fleet. We had people out on the boats before that. All the fish that have been released seem healthy and happy.''
Hatteras village has enjoyed a welcome winter business with the bluefin congregation offshore, but commercial fishermen here would also like to be able to enjoy the financial rewards of their northern neighbors, Morris said. They're shut out now because the fish will have moved north by the time the season opens.
But the obvious result of Hatteras becoming a bluefin fishery is that fishermen there would take a chunk out of the U.S. quota, raising the northern catch limit.
``They might take all of them, because there's so many out there,'' Hinman said, noting heavy pressure to increase the quotas because of the value of the fish and the demand to catch them.
Acknowledging the difficulty of changing existing regulations, Morris said Hatteras is being left out out of a potential gold mine.
``It doesn't seem fair for the guys here to have all these fish out there,'' Morris said. ``I don't know how they draw the line.'' by CNB