ROFFS three eddies
Three eddies” does not refer to a C&W group or the new bar down the street. It is in fact what Mitch Roffer, head of Roffs (Roffer’s Ocean Fishing Forecasting Services), calls “a rare condition” and one which holds great promise for an early and bountiful season in the Northeast for bluefin, swordfish, mako and bigeye.
“We’ve been monitoring the development and drift of two Gulf Stream eddy features in February and March,” Roffer says, in an exclusive interview. “Now a third eddy has been observed,” as the image clearly shows.
“Having three such relatively large eddies over this area is a rare event and I can’t remember when I have last seen this,” he says. “We are anticipating an early fishing season for swordfish, bluefin tuna, bigeye tuna and mako sharks and these fish are likely available now. We are already hearing rumors of bluefin tuna catches. We are sending this out to advise the community to get their boats in order so they do not miss this early season.”
Roffer adds elaborates on the phenomenon:
“These clockwise rotating Gulf Stream eddies are pulling Gulf Stream water of 77 degrees F. northward, and by the time the water reaches these eddy features, the temperature cools to 64 to 56 degrees.
“The biggest eddy is approximately 60 miles in diameter and is pulling the blue water over the Hudson Canyon to Block Canyon 100 fathom depths. The center of the eddy is over 1,400 fathom depths. This eddy is expected to be over the Hudson Canyon within a month’s time. Some of the 56-degree blue water extends to the Wilmington Canyon.
“The middle eddy is approximately 45 miles in diameter, centered over 1,500-fathom depths between Veatch and Hydrographer canyons, and is pulling 60-degree blue water over the 1,000 fathom curve with additional blue water of 56 to 57 degrees over the main 100-fathom canyon areas.
“The third eddy is approximately 30 miles wide and has 56-degree blue water at its center, which is located over 1,600 fathoms south of the Oceanographer and Lydonia canyons. This feature has pulled 53-degree blue water over the 100-fathom depths of these canyons.”
(Find out more about Roffer’s and other ocean forecasting services in Chris Woodward’s Electronics column in the June issue of Sport Fishing magazine.)
