Eric D. Prince

Expansion of oxygen minimum zones may reduce available habitat for tropical pelagic fishes

Climate model predictions1, 2 and observations3, 4 reveal regional declines in oceanic dissolved oxygen, which are probably influenced by global warming5. Studies indicate ongoing dissolved oxygen depletion and vertical expansion of the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) in the tropical northeast Atlantic Ocean6, 7. OMZ shoaling may restrict the usable habitat of billfishes and tunas to a narrow surface layer8, 9. We report a decrease in the upper ocean layer exceeding 3.5 ml l−1 dissolved oxygen at a rate of ≤1 m yr−1 in the tropical northeast Atlantic (0–25° N, 12–30° W), amounting to an annual habitat loss of ~5.95×1013 m3, or 15% for the period 1960–2010. Habitat compression and associated potential habitat loss was validated using electronic tagging data from 47 blue marlin. This phenomenon increases vulnerability to surface fishing gear for billfishes and tunas8, 9, and may be associated with a 10–50% worldwide decline of pelagic predator diversity10. Further expansion of the Atlantic OMZ along with overfishing may threaten the sustainability of these valuable pelagic fisheries and marine ecosystems.

Life History and Stock Structure of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus thynnus)

Our understanding of the biology of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) has increased profoundly in the last decade, and the progress is attributed to the development and application of a variety of novel tools. Here we provide a comprehensive examination of available data on the life history and stock structure of T. thynnus by re-examining current databases and literature and highlighting findings from recent studies using approaches such as archival tags and natural markers (e.g., genetics, otolith chemistry). The present review provides a detailed synthesis on the reproductive biology, feeding ecology, growth, mortality, migration, and stock structure of T. thynnus. In addition to characterizing key life history attributes and discussing stock-specific (east versus west) differences, the implication of trans-Atlantic movement and mixing are addressed. We also identify significant data needs that still exist and must be addressed to promote effective management and rapid recovery of T. thynnus populations.

Seasonal movements, aggregations and diving behavior of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) revealed with archival tags.

Electronic tags were used to examine the seasonal movements, aggregations and diving behaviors of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) to better understand their migration ecology and oceanic habitat utilization. Implantable archival tags (n = 561) were deployed in bluefin tuna from 1996 to 2005 and 106 tags were recovered. Movement paths of the fish were reconstructed using light level and sea-surface-temperature-based geolocation estimates. To quantify habitat utilization we employed a weighted kernel estimation technique that removed the biases of deployment location and track length. Throughout the North Atlantic, high residence times (167±33 days) were identified in four spatially confined regions on a seasonal scale. Within each region, bluefin tuna experienced distinct temperature regimes and displayed different diving behaviors. The mean diving depths within the high-use areas were significantly shallower and the dive frequency and the variance in internal temperature significantly higher than during transit movements between the high-use areas. Residence time in the more northern latitude high-use areas was significantly correlated with levels of primary productivity. The regions of aggregation are associated with areas of abundant prey and potentially represent critical foraging habitats that have seasonally abundant prey. Throughout the North Atlantic mean diving depth was significantly correlated with the depth of the thermocline, and dive behavior changed in relation to the stratification of the water column. In this study, with numerous multi-year tracks, there appear to be repeatable patterns of clear aggregation areas that potentially are changing with environmental conditions. The high concentrations of bluefin tuna in predictable locations indicate that Atlantic bluefin tuna are vulnerable to concentrated fishing efforts in the regions of foraging aggregations.

Global overview of the major constituent-based billfish tagging programs and their results since 1954

Release and recovery files from the worlds five major constituent-based billfish (Istiophoridae) tagging programs were assembled into a single composite database. Data sources included the National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS) Cooperative Tagging Center (MIA) in the Atlantic Ocean, the NMFSs Cooperative Billfish Tag- ging Program (LJA) in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, the Australian Cooperative Tagging Program in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, the New Zealand Cooperative Game Fish Tagging Program in the Pacific Ocean, and The Billfish Foundations (TBF) tagging program in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Results for the main target species, including black marlin (Makaira indica), blue marlin (Makaira nigricans), white marlin (Tetrapturus albidus), striped marlin (Tetrapturus audax) and sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus) were compared and contrasted based on species, ocean body and tagging program. A total of over 317 000 billfish have been tagged and released, and 4122 have been recovered since 1954. Tag recovery percentages were generally higher for a recently developed double- barb nylon anchor tag compared with the typically used stainless steel dart tag. Greatest distances moved were largest for blue marlin and black marlin, followed by striped marlin, white marlin and sailfish. The TBF program had the highest tag recovery percentages for white marlin (2.4%) and blue marlin (1.7%), whereas the MIA program had the highest percentage recovery for sailfish (1.8%). The LJA program had the highest recovery percentages for black marlin (1.9%) and striped marlin (1.4%). The annual number of releases and recoveries for each tar- get species tended to increase over the time series, particularly during the last decade. Cyclic annual movement patterns and/or seasonal site fidelity were evident for black marlin and white marlin. The data suggest that tag recovery percentages can be affected by tag type, reporting rate, localized fishing activities, outreach activities, and a variety of logistical issues indirectly related to size of ocean body. The efficiencies of the tagging programs are compared and recommendations are made to improve the programs. The composite tagging database provides the opportunity for a more comprehensive evaluation of the data and tagging programs than has previously been pos- sible by examining the individual programs in isolation. The main advantage of constituent-based tagging programs is that large numbers of billfish can be tagged at a minimum cost. The main drawbacks are a lack of control over the tagging event and return of recovery data. Constituent-based tagging programs provide essential data on billfish movement and biology, and should be expanded and improved to meet the increasing need for this information.

Archival and Pop-up Satellite Tagging of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna

Pelagic fish have historically been a challenge to study because of their large size and highly migratory movements. Previous technological limitations have recently been overcome using archival and pop-off satellite tags, enabling studies of long-term movements, oceanographic preferences and behaviors. Archival tags record information on depth, ambient and internal temperatures, and light levels. Their major advantage lies in the extensive detail of this information and the ability to extract geolocation and oceanographic information in addition to biological data. We have deployed 279 archival tags in Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus thynnus) in the western North Atlantic. To date, 40 of these have been reported as recaptured from both the western Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea. Detailed records up to 3.6 years in length have been obtained demonstrating that Atlantic bluefin prefer the top 200 m of the water column and spend more than half their time in the upper 40 m. Atlantic bluefin maintain a high internal body temperature despite encountering a wide range of ambient temperatures (2–30°C). Patterns of feeding behavior have emerged providing data on how often and when fish feed at sea. Geolocation estimates for electronic tagged western Atlantic bluefin derived from archival and pop-up satellite archival tags indicate these bluefin show visitation and aggregation in New England, Carolina, the Gulf of Mexico as well as the Mediterranean. Pop-up satellite tags have been deployed on 120 west Atlantic bluefin tuna. Ninety percent of the pop-up tags scheduled to transmit have delivered data or position information on time. Both types of electronic tag data can be combined with oceanographic data to reveal a complete picture of how and where these fish forage in the pelagic realm.

Use of Catenary Geometry to Estimate Hook Depth during Near-Surface Pelagic Longline Fishing: Theory versus Practice

Abstract Management and conservation of many highly migratory fish species are based on population assessments that rely heavily on catch and effort data from the pelagic longline fishing industry. In 2003, we monitored hook time at depth for shallow-set commercial longlines (i.e., four hooks between surface buoys) targeting swordfish Xiphias gladius in the Windward Passage between Haiti and Cuba. We deployed temperature–depth recorders (TDRs) on about every 13th hook and attached them to branchlines just above the hook. Most TDRs were placed on branchlines that were predicted by catenary geometry to be at the deepest hook position between floats. Additional TDRs were also placed at the shallowest predicted hook position. We monitored 10 pelagic longline sets with a length (mean ± SE) of 44.9 ± 2.0 km. Time at depth for each TDR was binned into 5-m depth intervals. The expected bimodal distributions of hook time at depth were not observed; modes were 40 m for both the shallowest and deepest predicted hook...

Seasonal distributions and migrations of Northwest Atlantic swordfish: inferences from integration of pop-up satellite archival tagging studies.

Data sets from three laboratories conducting studies of movements and migrations of Atlantic swordfish (Xiphias gladius) using pop-up satellite archival tags were pooled, and processed using a common methodology. From 78 available deployments, 38 were selected for detailed examination based on deployment duration. The points of deployment ranged from southern Newfoundland to the Straits of Florida. The aggregate data comprise the most comprehensive information describing migrations of swordfish in the Atlantic. Challenges in using data from different tag manufacturers are discussed. The relative utility of geolocations obtained with light is compared with results derived from temperature information for this deep-diving species. The results show that fish tagged off North America remain in the western Atlantic throughout their deployments. This is inconsistent with the model of stock structure used in assessments conducted by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, which assumes that fish mix freely throughout the North Atlantic.

Ocean Heat Content Reveals Secrets of Fish Migrations

For centuries, the mechanisms surrounding spatially complex animal migrations have intrigued scientists and the public. We present a new methodology using ocean heat content (OHC), a habitat metric that is normally a fundamental part of hurricane intensity forecasting, to estimate movements and migration of satellite-tagged marine fishes. Previous satellite-tagging research of fishes using archival depth, temperature and light data for geolocations have been too coarse to resolve detailed ocean habitat utilization. We combined tag data with OHC estimated from ocean circulation and transport models in an optimization framework that substantially improved geolocation accuracy over SST-based tracks. The OHC-based movement track provided the first quantitative evidence that many of the tagged highly migratory fishes displayed affinities for ocean fronts and eddies. The OHC method provides a new quantitative tool for studying dynamic use of ocean habitats, migration processes and responses to environmental changes by fishes, and further, improves ocean animal tracking and extends satellite-based animal tracking data for other potential physical, ecological, and fisheries applications.

Comparative population genetics and evolutionary history of two commonly misidentified billfishes of management and conservation concern

BackgroundMisidentifications between exploited species may lead to inaccuracies in population assessments, with potentially irreversible conservation ramifications if overexploitation of either species is occurring. A notable showcase is provided by the realization that the roundscale spearfish (Tetrapturus georgii), a recently validated species, has been historically misidentified as the morphologically very similar and severely overfished white marlin (Kajikia albida) (IUCN listing: Vulnerable). In effect, no information exists on the population status and evolutionary history of the enigmatic roundscale spearfish, a large, highly vagile and broadly distributed pelagic species. We provide the first population genetic evaluation of the roundscale spearfish, utilizing nuclear microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA sequence markers. Furthermore, we re-evaluated existing white marlin mitochondrial genetic data and present our findings in a comparative context to the roundscale spearfish.ResultsMicrosatellite and mitochondrial (control region) DNA markers provided mixed evidence for roundscale spearfish population differentiation between the western north and south Atlantic regions, depending on marker-statistical analysis combination used. Mitochondrial DNA analyses provided strong signals of historical population growth for both white marlin and roundscale spearfish, but higher genetic diversity and effective female population size (1.5-1.9X) for white marlin.ConclusionsThe equivocal indications of roundscale spearfish population structure, combined with a smaller effective female population size compared to the white marlin, already a species of concern, suggests that a species-specific and precautionary management strategy recognizing two management units is prudent for this newly validated billfish.