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This installment of "Point of View is brought to you by
Captain Derek Spingler and Captain Nat Moody,Owners of First Light Anglers in Rowley, MA. They have been |
As captains of a small charter and commercial tuna boat out of the Gloucester, MA area over the last 14 years, we have seen first hand how the bluefin tuna fishery has changed. Primarily running striped bass and bluefish charters in the early to mid 1990s, in 1995 we turned our attention to the commercial tuna fishery in the near-shore waters off of Gloucester. Although the fishery had started to see the beginning of the decline of large bluefin in local waters, we were fortunate enough to witness days when hundreds of boats chased thousands of giant bluefin swarming the near shore waters off of Cape Ann. It was still a time when fishermen, like ourselves, could chase tuna in the 400 to 1000lb range successfully in a 24' center console, often not more then 10-15 miles offshore. In fact, most of the fish we caught were less than 6 miles offshore. We were by no means “high liners” in terms of the Gloucester tuna fleet, but we generally fished about 15 to 20 days and sold 8 to 10 fish per summer. One fish a day per boat filled the quota quickly even though all of us fished according to the open and closed fishing days determined by NMFS. Few of us had any idea how much the fishery would change in just a few years. All we knew is that we were catching, and back then catching was good money. Then in 2001 we fished 20 days off of Gloucester on Stellwagen Bank and Jeffries Ledge and did not catch a single giant.
With open and closed fishing days we could still plan ahead and book striper charters for the closed days. However, as the hours on the anchor ball chumming turned into days and weeks with no fish or money to show for our efforts we began booking more striper trips knowing at least we would get paid. Soon thereafter we started hearing more and more chatter about all the little tunas or “rats” plaguing the trolling fleet as they tried desperately to catch a giant on Stellwagan Bank or Wildcat Knoll. It first started in the summer of 1998 and soon we too started seeing the little fish crash around on the tide change while at anchor on Jeffries and/or Stellwagen. The excitement of seeing these little fish crash bait on the surface was profound for us, as we had never witnessed such seemingly reckless and chaotic feeding. We decided we had to try and catch one with a fly rod.
Initially, most thought we were a bit crazy, but in September of 1998 we landed our first bluefin tuna on the fly! The fish were chasing mackerel, and weighed on average 60lbs. For saltwater fly fisherman, tuna, particularly bluefin, are at the pinnacle of the quest. Their shear strength and speed, not to mention the generally short time they spend feeding on the surface make them an appealing and challenging quarry to say the least. The ramifications of this we did not totally comprehend as the season ended in 1998, all we knew is that we were totally obsessed with trying to catch another bluefin on the fly. We had done what most thought impossible and we had done it without chumming or teasing the fish. We had gone and found them, waved the long rod, and deceived them into biting our hooks wrapped in fur and feathers!
Looking back 10 years, it is hard to believe what an exciting journey those first couple of bluefin created. As giant fishermen, we would never have believed that any other fishery could offer us the same excitement and adrenaline rush as being surrounded by what tuna fishermen call the “show”. For years we had waited out long winters to experience a small part of the action each summer. Then in 2001, that show never arrived, but what did was the juvenile menhaden, and they arrived by the millions in mid-August. Almost instantly it felt as if the entire local bluefin fishery changed. Suddenly, only a couple of miles from shore we had large schools of 50-70lb tuna feeding aggressively for hours on tight balls of 2-4” baitfish. What we found truly astounding is that we had this fishery predominantly to ourselves. The general fishing community largely did not know of their existence and the commercial tuna fleet generally could care less as these were definitely not sellable fish.
Since 2001, we have essentially not chased giants. In recent years, the quota has not been filled, even with the current daily retention limit at 3 fish per day. In today's fishery the notion of filling a monthly quota in a few days is quite literally laughable. This being said, we have seen a remarkable fishery develop for these school bluefin. In the years from 2001 through 2003 we saw a decent mix in the size of fish, and then in 2004 we were inundated with a huge body of fish in the 25 to 40 lb range. Since then we have largely seen this fishery revolve around this particular year class of fish. This past year, 2008, we saw most of these fish return and be in the 57-60” class and weighing around 90-120lbs by season's end. If this class of fish returns in 2009, one should expect these fish to be in the 65-70” range and 150-200lb class. This also means that in 2010 these fish should hit “giant” status of at least 73”. This is when the fishery could get quite interesting as recreational, charter, and commercial boats all compete for their allotted piece of the quota.
This recent surge has not only been great for our charter business but also our tackle store sales. Anglers who never dreamed they could target bluefin have done so very successfully for the last 4-5 years. Interestingly, as tuna grow larger they also become more tolerant to lower water temperatures which has directly equated to a longer season since 2004. In 2006, we caught our first school tuna in July. Then in 2007 we caught our first at the end of June. Last year we caught our first fish the second week of June and our last close to Halloween! This extended season is again fantastic for business, but unquestionably takes a greater toll on this year class we are fishing.
Many who are new to the sport see the sheer numbers of fish we have seen in recent years and the growing length of the season and believe this to be a healthy and robust fishery. Honestly, nothing could be further from the truth. A healthy year class distribution in the current fishery does not exist. We have been essentially fishing this same 2004 year class for the last 4 years. This is not to say there are not giants around, as illustrated by the recent catches off of Nova Scotia . Nor is it to say there are no tiny fish as seen in catches as recent as 2008 off of Virginia Beach and Maryland. It simply means this 2004 year class appears critical to our local fishery. The science shows that most of these fish should be approaching sexual maturity, and should begin to spawn in the next few years. We only hope they do so before becoming legal to sell, or migrating into less regulated fisheries. The fishermen of New England eagerly await the return of the show!
Captain Derek Spingler and Captain Nat Moody, Owners of First Light Anglers in Rowley, MA 978.948.7004 or www.firstlightanglers.com