Bluefin Tuna: "On the 19th of June 2011, SOCIB and IEO researchers set off on the second cruise of the BlueFin Project in the southern waters of the Balearic Islands"

As part of the BLUEFIN Project, which will take place between 2011 and 2014 under the specific collaboration agreement signed to this effect between the Spanish Institute of Oceanography and Coastal Observing System of the Balearic Islands, a series of research campaigns will be undertaken with ground support from IMEDEA/TMOOS and SOCIB researchers providing satellite imagery and numerical simulations to aid the cruise planning and sampling. The overall objective is to obtain in situ data, by launching surface drifters and performing selective larvae fishing, for the parameterization and validation of predictive models to locate spawning areas and larval survival of bluefin tuna in the Balearic Sea. It will contribute to achieving the project’s strategic objective: to provide scientific information relevant to the design and implementation of management systems to optimize the exploitation of Atlantic Bluefin tuna stock, so as to promote and maintain a good state of the populations. The specific objectives of this second campaign, which will begin on June 19, 2011 aboard the ship "Tio Gel" are:

1. Gauge and analyze the drift and dispersion of dense Bluefin tuna larvae patches of both natural populations and those kept in captivity.
2. Determine the vertical distribution of tuna larvae throughout the daily cycle.
3. Determine daily mortality rates in the early stages of tuna larvae development.
4. Define the beginning of piscivorous activity in Bluefin tuna larvae.

You can follow the news updates about the campaign on the SOCIB Twitter (@socib_icts) and Facebook profile