141: Atlantic Bluefin Tuna with William Roche

<p>Join me for the conversation with Dr William Roche, a senior research officer at Inland Fisheries Ireland, about angler-driven fish tagging programmes. We put a particular focus on the <a href="https://www.fisheriesireland.ie/what-we-do/research/tuna-chart" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tuna CHART programme</a> but we also talk about the <a href="https://www.fisheriesireland.ie/what-we-do/research/marine-sportfish-tagging-programme" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Marine Sportfish Tagging Programme</a> which is aimed at elasmobranch species of fish like sharks, skates and rays. And as you might expect I did not forget to enquire, albeit briefly, about the <a href="https://www.fisheriesireland.ie/what-we-do/research/national-bass-programme" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">bass tagging program</a> too.</p><br><p>During our chat, we discuss the conservation status of the Atlantic bluefin tuna, the fishing gear required to catch one of these iconic fish and we talk you through the typical tuna fishing day. We also talk about the importance of recreational anglers taking part in citizen science initiatives, and we discuss comparing anglers’ data about catches with commercial fishing data. Finally, we encourage all anglers to take part in the IMREC Project and to record their catches, and indeed blanks, in the <a href="https://imrec-ifigis.hub.arcgis.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IMREC app</a>. The app provides anglers with a personal angling diary while anonymised data is collected to help make better management decisions to sustain the sport of angling.</p><br><p>Subscribe to <a href="https://newsletter.tommysoutdoors.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tommy's Outdoors Newsletter</a></p><br><p>Feature story: <a href="https://medium.com/@tommysoutdoors/the-demise-and-recovery-of-the-atlantic-bluefin-tuna-317b45b889f1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Demise and Recovery of The Atlantic Bluefin Tuna</a></p><br><p>Support the Podcast and Buy