Frustrated with the short Atlantic bluefin tuna season and restrictive catch limits? Instead of sitting at home and whining about it, go fishing and become part of the solution.
Although recreational harvest of bluefin tuna in the Atlantic is currently closed and is being managed under strict seasons and catch limits by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), catch-and-release angling is allowed. Anyone who tangles with bluefins, either commercially or just for fun, is encouraged to take part in a research study being conducted by the University of Maine Pelagic Fisheries Lab’s Genetics for Giants & Juvies program.
“Conservation is what really defines a sportsman to me, and while part of me feels the same frustration I’m seeing from other recreational and charter fishermen, I also understand that this is just part of being in the game,” said Dave Eisner, a recreational angler who participates in the program. “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em… or at least try to get the data to support a higher stock.”
Eisner was on a boat last weekend that sampled a 44-inch bluefin and a big 74-incher for the program before releasing the fish. He said the process is straightforward. Participants are asked to measure fish, make note of the water temperature and location and take a small fin clipping to be sent to the lab.
Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Study
Using a relatively new technique called Close-Kin Mark Recapture (CKMR), the Pelagic Fisheries Lab uses genetics to identify where bluefin tuna come from, either the eastern or western stock. The western stock spawns in the Gulf of America (Mexico), while the eastern stock spawns in the Mediterranean Sea. The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) manages these two stocks separately, although a high degree of intermingling occurs.
In CKMR research, genetic samples from fin clippings are used to estimate the ratio of genetically matched fish to larvae. “In other words, we are using DNA to map out the family tree of ABFT in the Western Atlantic,” reads a flyer for the program.
The Pelagic Fisheries Lab’s research has ultimate goals of estimating absolute population abundance and future productivity of the fishery, which would provide fisheries managers more accurate, real-time data with which to sustainably manage the Atlantic bluefin fishery.
Industry Support for Bluefin Tuna Research
Viking Yachts, the legendary New Jersey boatbuilder, has come out in strong support of the Pelagic Fisheries Lab’s research, and is calling on the sport fishing community to get involved.
“You’ve seen it firsthand—the US bluefin population, which stretches from Maine to Texas, continues to build,” reads a Viking press release. “But instead of expanded access, anglers are facing tighter restrictions in 2025. The problem? The US quota hasn’t kept pace with the growing stock, triggering overages and forcing NOAA to impose new limits.”
A Call to Action for Anglers
If you’re a fisherman, from North Carolina to Maine, who regularly encounters bluefin tuna, click this link to request a sample kit. Each kit contains 15 sample vials and instructions for how to take a small, non-lethal fin clip to be used as a tissue sample. The program doesn’t cost anything for anglers acquiring samples. However, it does cost the program money to distribute these kits, so don’t request a kit unless you’re serious about taking part.
On that note, with the current state of federal funding for scientific research, the program also needs funding. If you don’t actively fish for bluefin tuna but you do care about management of the fishery, click here to donate to the University of Maine Foundation Highly Migratory Species Conservation Fund. Donations go directly to cover the cost of kits, lab analysis and fieldwork.
