Two fish stories and a boat...

[senoritafish]

Bluefin Tuna Thinner, Abandoning Coastline

Information provided by the Snoqualmie Valley Record

Bluefin tuna caught in the Gulf of Maine these days are a lot leaner than they were in the 1990s, suggesting a major shift in the ecosystem, according to scientists at the University of New Hampshire. Fourteen years worth of records at a Seabrook auction house reveal that tuna aren't eating as well as they used to, says Molly Lutcavage, director of the Large Pelagics Research Lab at UNH. Bluefin are also less abundant.

Lutcavage says it's unclear what has happened to the species, a top predator in the Gulf of Maine and the premium tuna for sushi lovers in Japan.

The decline, she says, could signal changes in the gulf that also may be affecting whales, seabirds and other fish that feed on the same forage fish, such has herring. Many tuna fishermen say they are seeing a lot fewer tuna in near-shore waters and also fewer whales and seabirds.

The findings of the UNH study also could influence the debate over whether restrictions should be placed on the large midwater trawlers that fish for herring in the gulf, especially near shore.

The research is based entirely on the records kept by one man, Bob Campbell, manager of the Yankee Fisherman's Cooperative in Seabrook.

Trained by the general manager of a Japanese auction house, Campbell grades each fish on freshness, oil content, color and shape. He also records the weight and date the fish was caught.

Because grading practices can vary depending on who's doing the grading, Campbell's records - which are kept in spiral-bound notebooks and date back to 1991 - are valuable to scientists because they are so consistent, Lutcavage says.

The high oil content that makes tuna so tasty to Japanese palates is the best indicator for the overall health of tuna.

Fishermen seek oil-rich tuna because they fetch the highest prices. David Linney, 63, a Maine tuna fisherman in York, says the tuna caught in the early 1990s were so oily that they would slide around the deck when he tried to dress them, and he had to wash his hands for a long time afterward to get the oil off.

Today, he says, most fish have so little oil that he can clean his hands with one rinse. "It's very hard to catch a real butter ball now, even late in the season," he said.

With their torpedo shape, Atlantic bluefin are built for speed. They can grow to be close to 12 feet long and can weigh more than 1,500 pounds.

They come to the Gulf of Maine in late May to fatten up, and they depart for warmer waters by the end of October. Some travel to the Gulf of Mexico, and some go elsewhere in the Atlantic, but it's not clear where, Lutcavage says. It's possible that some migrate to European waters, where they are heavily fished, she says.

Tuna are primarily caught in the Gulf of Maine in near-shore waters by small boats on day trips. Fishermen use harpoons and fishing rods. Farther offshore, fishermen also use purse seines. They surround schooling fish with a net and trap them by closing the bottom of the net.

Some fishermen use an electrified harpoon so they can kill the fish instantly, thus assuring a better quality meat and a higher price. The meat of a tuna that dies when stressed, such as during a struggle to escape a fisherman's line, is more watery because the cell structure degrades, according to Jamie Foote, a fish buyer from Boston.

In Japan, the bluefin caught in the Gulf of Maine is a delicacy known as "Boston bluefin." When the Japanese economy was booming in the early 1990s, fishermen in New England were getting as much as $25 a pound for their tuna.

But an economic downturn in Japan led to lower demand. In addition, supply has increased with the introduction of tuna farms in Australia, Croatia, Malta, Morocco, Spain, Portugal, Japan and Mexico. The fish farms fatten tuna caught in the ocean.

At the Fisherman's Cooperative, bidders inspect the tuna, grade them and make silent bids on a slip of paper. Campbell, who represents fishermen's interests at the auction, grades each tuna to assure the integrity of the system. He won't show his grades to anyone until after the auction is over.

At an auction Friday, the top quality tuna sold for $4,800, or $10.64 a pound, which these days is considered a high price. All three tuna sold Friday were bought by Foote for the U.S. market, which has increased in recent years in part because of the influx of Asian immigrants.

Between 1991 and 2004, Campbell graded 3,834 tuna. Researchers who analyzed his records found that fish are arriving in the gulf in June in poorer condition than they did in the early 1990s, and that those caught later in the season have a lower oil content and slimmer body shapes.

The study shows a steady decline in oil content since 1991, with the steepest decline occurring between 1992 and 1995.

"What amazed all of us, the results were so consistent, that the decline in every feature of condition was documented in every aspect of the quality of the fish," Lutcavage said.

Campbell, who lives in Kenne- bunk, says he never knew his records could be helpful to scientists. He says the results confirm what he already knew.

"When I first started, at the end of September and October the fish were of really great quality, lots of fat and nice color," he said. "That's a thing of the past."

The researchers have yet to publish the study, but they believe the findings are so significant that they decided to make the facts public before submitting the paper for publication, Lutcavage says.

John Annala, chief scientist at the Gulf of Maine Institute in Portland, says there has been an apparent shift in the distribution of bluefin tuna, and also right whales, in the gulf. He says scientists need to find out what is causing the shift.

He says the nutritional value of the tuna's key forage fish, herring, may have declined. Both right whales and herring feed on Calanus, a zooplankton, so perhaps the distribution of Calanus has changed, he says.

Masa Ota, a Portland-based buyer for the Japanese market, says he believes the tuna quality is down because tuna is over-harvested. He says purse seines are able to catch entire families, a harvest method that may be very disruptive.

The issue is not confined to the Gulf of Maine. Over the past four or five years, Canadian scientists have observed a decline in the quality of bluefin tuna caught in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, says John Neilson, a scientist with the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans. He says food does not appear to be the cause because herring and mackerel seem abundant.

Linney, the York fisherman, points to the herring trawlers as a major factor, noting that trawlers began fishing in the area in 1994. Now, he says, there is simply not enough herring left to support seabirds, whales and tuna.

"It appears the area will not hold giant bluefin tuna any longer," he said.


Giant Delaware Tuna Holds Nasty Surprise

That monster of a bluefin tuna that Dan Dillon landed back in July was more than a Delaware record-breaker.

Turns out the 873-pound tuna also broke a record for toxicity.

Mercury levels in the fish were 2 1/2 times higher than the action level the Food and Drug Administration sets for commercial fish. An FDA action level is the limit where the agency will take legal action to remove a product from the market.

The mercury also was nearly twice the highest level of mercury ever found by the FDA in fresh or frozen tuna steaks, according to the nonprofit Oceana campaign to protect and restore the world's oceans.

Dillon, of Herndon, Va., donated a 5-pound, frozen tuna filet from his Delaware state record catch to the Oceana campaign for testing. The sample was assessed for mercury contamination at ACZ Laboratories in Steamboat Springs, Colo., said Jackie Savitz, director of the Ocean's Seafood Contamination Campaign.

Savitz said the mercury finding should serve as a wake-up call for consumers -- and as a warning for ocean anglers.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency says that when mercury levels reach more than 1.9 parts per million in fish, people should eat no more than 4 ounces a month -- that's less than what's found in a typical can of tuna. People who have eaten more should cut back on future consumption.

Dillon's fish had mercury levels of 2.5 parts per million.

Bluefin tuna are not often found in seafood markets or on store shelves, but the fish is often used in sushi.

Yellowfin tuna -- a species popular with local anglers and commonly sold at area seafood markets -- is believed to have lower mercury levels because the fish is smaller. There isn't a great deal of testing information available broken down by tuna species, said Kim Warner, a marine pollution scientist with Oceana.

"People are always asking me which fish can I eat," Savitz said. "I usually say stay away from any big fish with teeth."

Dillon's fish was big -- 873 pounds and nine feet, seven inches long.

He said Wednesday he was warned by Delaware fisheries officials that mercury could be a problem in a fish that large. So, he, his family and friends limited how much they ate.

All day Wednesday, he said, friends and family members were calling him about the fish with comments like: "Dillon, I can't believe this story won't go away."

The high level of mercury found in Dillon's fish means it was probably an older fish, Warner said. Bluefin tuna are at the top of the food chain and toxins like mercury accumulate in fish tissue, she said.

It is unlikely that the mercury in Dillon's fish can be traced to Delaware, even though mercury contamination is a concern in the Delaware River.

Atlantic bluefin tuna spawn off the Gulf of Mexico and travel throughout the Atlantic Ocean, Warner said.

They are likely to accumulate mercury by eating smaller fish that spend part of their lives in waters along and near the shorelines, she said.

"It gets into the food chain," she said.

Warner said people who eat small amounts of mercury-contaminated fish don't have a problem.

The FDA recommends that consumers limit canned albacore consumption to no more than 6 ounces a week -- the size of a standard can of tuna fish. The agency also advises women of child-bearing years not to consume four types of fish: swordfish, tile fish, shark and king mackerel.

High exposure to mercury may result in damage to the gastrointestinal tract, nervous system, and kidneys. Symptoms of high exposure to mercury include skin rashes and dermatitis, mood swings, memory loss, mental disturbances and muscle weakness.

Savitz said many consumers are unaware of the warnings. More testing and warnings are needed to protect consumers.

"We don't want to just tell people about the problem. We also want to solve it," Savitz said. "Mr. Dillon has done more than catch a record-breaking fish, he has made an important contribution to our understanding mercury levels in fish. Recreational anglers are on the front lines when it comes to mercury contamination since mercury can occur at very high levels in the fish they catch and eat."


Captain Backs it in... 80 miles!

NEWPORT, Ore. (AP) - Jim Peterson, a 61-year-old fisherman, was 80 miles off the coast of Newport last week when the reverse gear seized up on him. After some frustration, Peterson managed to get the boat to shift into reverse. But only reverse.

Far from his home port of Coos Bay, Peterson and the deckhand, Jeremy Welsh, considered their options - Wait hours for a Coast Guard tow, wait for help from other fishermen or drive the boat all the way back in reverse.

Peterson wasn't waiting.

"It was odd, watching the wake roll out the front windows; like watching a movie in reverse," Peterson told The Register-Guard of Eugene.

Stranger still was trying to steer the 38-foot Alice M., a 60-year-old wooden troller. It was sort of like backing up a truck towing a trailer - with some extra motion underneath.

"It can go in reverse, but the rudder isn't made for it," said Welsh, 34. "You go in a direction for 15 minutes, then you'd have to stop, zigzag around and correct yourself. You couldn't really steer while you're driving, you'd have to position the boat in the direction you wanted. It was an ordeal."

A 39-hour ordeal, to be precise. The boat goes only about seven nautical miles an hour at full, forward speed.

"I've talked to some old-timers," Peterson said. "Nobody's ever heard of anybody doing that before."

Early last Saturday, the pair arrived at the mouth of Yaquina Bay, which was closer than Coos Bay. It was dark and foggy, so the men slept a few hours before crossing the bar. With four-foot seas and whitecaps, crossing isn't an easy thing to do while traveling forward.

"We knew if the weather turned, it was going to be dangerous," Welsh said. "Definitely going through the jaws (jetties) in Newport was scary."

But Peterson maneuvered the craft to safety, despite a quick turn he had to make when a startled charter boat captain got too close. It wasn't the only strange look he got.

"One guy asked me what was wrong," Peterson said. "I told him I forgot something."

The pair made a hard landing at the docks with 13 tuna and one fish tale.

"The story is spreading," Welsh said. "I've gotten drinks bought for me in Charleston from people I don't even know, just because I was on the boat."

Peterson spent Thursday in Newport filleting his catch and working on the transmission.

"It was hard to get used to just walking on the dock, forward," Peterson said. "Things were coming at me too fast."