A project is underway to collate data on the growing number of bluefin tuna entering British waters in the late summer.

The collaberations between CEFAS and the UNiversity of Exeter sees Thunnus UK asking anglers, fishermen and the general public to report any sightings through a variety of channels, and the end game is to tag a number of fish and monitor their movement patterns.

Thunnus are accepting accept data in any format and the most useful are records with:

Date & time

Location

Approx. number of fish (1-10; 11-25; 26-50; > 50)

Approx. size of fish (<0.5m, 0.5-1m, 1-1.5m, 1.5-2m, >2m)

“Atlantic bluefin tuna were once a common sight in UK waters. In the last five years, they have been frequently reported during the late summer, autumn and winter when they have once again begun to move into coastal areas of the UK to feed on forage fish,
such as sprats and herring,” said a spokesman.

“Whilst their return to our coastal waters is incredibly exciting, we know very little about these magnificent animals. To learn more about bluefin tuna in our coastal waters, the “Thunnus UK” project, with funding from the European Union and Defra, will undertake a 2-year programme of research to provide a baseline understanding of the ecology and distribution of these fish around the UK.

The project has three aims:
1. Collate information on the presence and abundance of Atlantic bluefin tuna in UK waters
2. Conduct a tagging programme with state of the art electronic tags
3. Provide information and advice to stakeholders

“As part of the project we are asking all marine users to share their sightings and catches of Atlantic bluefin tuna so that we can begin to
understand the local ecology of the species. We’d love your pictures, logbook records or even just a text with some details, all are useful!

If you have records you would like to share then fill in the form below on teh website or email bluefin@exeter.ac.uk.

07432 873490
bluefin@exeter.ac.uk
www.thunnusuk.org
@ThunnusUK