Tuna above the water

Text: Jörn Selling / Pictures: Eduardo Montano Peralto

Since two weeks we are observing the tuna on the water surface which is quite unusual. We can recognize them from far away by looking how the water moves: There are a lot of waves and splashing of the water and a lot of foam as well; sometimes a fin might come out of the water or we see shiny sparkles when they swim on their sides. When swimming very fast the tuna create a lot of waves and foam making people believe they are about to see dolphins instead of tuna.

Unlike the previous years we have noticed this year tuna fish jumping out of the water. It looks like the tuna are hunting with shearwater birds also taking part in the feast trying to catch fish when they jump out of the water evading the big tuna.

 

It is well known that after the tuna fish lay their eggs they are off from the Mediterranean waters into the Atlantic with the risk of being caught by fishhooks during their travel, although this is hard to see in deep sea waters.

Two weeks ago, the traditional tuna fishing “Almadrabas” have been fully installed. The Almadrabas are a huge labyrinth of nets in which the tuna heading to the Mediterranean Sea are caught. Since 2008 fishermen are not allowed to fish as many tuna as they can anymore, there are restrictions regulating the quota each season. When the quota is reached and fishermen are not allowed to fish anymore they leave the poor tuna waiting in their nets to be released again. Unfortunately when they are released it is often too late to reach the reproduction waters in Mediterranean sea. Possibly these tunas stay in the Strait of Gibraltar to feed and this is why we think that we observe this unusual behaviour of the “jumping tuna.

 

The fisherman catching the tuna with long fishing lines on its way back to the Atlantic Ocean after reproducing in the Mediterranean Sea experience the negative side of this unusual behaviour. They get a very low quota from the government which makes the fishing season only last for about two weeks. This is also the reason why the Orca season is shorter now as they normally are found with the fishermen. Later on the orcas are only occasionally sighted swimming across the Strait of Gibraltar.

So because of the mighty Purse Seines and “Almadrabas” that catch most of the tuna during fishing Season, fishermen, orcas and whale watchers are left pretty much with nothing.