NOAA fisheries announced third quarter landing updates for bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna, bigeye tuna, skipjack tuna, northern albacore, and swordfish. These landings include all fish landed commercially and recreationally by United States vessels in the Atlantic Ocean from January 1st through August 31st, 2019. The changes as compared to last year are summarized below:
Species | How have Landings Changed From 2018? | How Much Have Landings Changed? |
Swordfish | Increased | 630.2 mt |
Bluefin Tuna | Increased | 30 mt / 644 fish |
Bigeye Tuna | Increased | 78.5 mt |
Northern Albacore | Increased | 18.7 mt |
Yellowfin Tuna | Decreased | 61.3 mt |
Skipjack Tuna | Decreased | 1.7 mt |
More detailed summaries of the 2019 third quarter landings updates for each individual fish are also included below:
Swordfish:
Category | Landings (mt dw) | 2018 Landings |
Commercial Directed 1/1-6/30 | 458.8 | 334.3 |
Commercial Directed 7/1-12/31 | 139.7 | 104.1 |
Commercial Bycatch | 5.7 | 5.8 |
Recreational | 26 | 18.1 |
Total | 630.2 | 462.2 |
Bluefin Tuna:
Category | 2019 Number of Fish | 2019 Total Weight | 2018 Number of Fish | 2018 Total Weight |
General | 2,258 | 385.8 mt | 2,151 | 387.2 mt |
Harpoon | 737 | 102.4 mt | 153 | 26.6 mt |
Longline | 396 | 74.2 mt | 444 | 83.2 mt |
Trap | 1 | .3 mt | 0 | 0 mt |
Total | 3,392 | 526.6 mt | 2,748 | 497 mt |
Other Tuna:
Species | 2019 Landings | 2018 Landings |
Bigeye Tuna | 216.4 mt | 137.9 mt |
Northern Albacore | 81.5 mt | 62.8mt |
Yellowfin Tuna | 550.1 mt | 611.4 mt |
Skipjack Tuna | 3.7 mt | 5.4 mt |
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