Researchers tag dozens of tuna off Türkiye's southwestern coast to collect data

By Hatice Ozdemir Tosun and Mustafa Kurt

ANTALYA, Türkiye (AA) - Researchers have tagged 32 bluefin tuna off the coast of Alanya district in Türkiye's southwestern Antalya province with satellite-connected devices to monitor their migration route and breeding and feeding areas.

Experts from the Mediterranean Fisheries Research, Production and Training Institute, the General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies and the General Directorate of Fisheries and Aquaculture of Türkiye's Agriculture and Forestry Ministry and from Türkiye's Cukurova University and Stanford University in the US launched a study in the Gulf of Antalya as part of the Atlantic-Wide Research Program for Bluefin Tuna of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).

The team sailed from Alanya with Turkish-flagged ships the previous day and placed the devices on 32 tuna they caught.

The moments of attaching the devices to the fish and releasing them into the sea were captured by an Anadolu team.

- Devices to stay on fish for 1 year

Serkan Erkan, director of the Mediterranean Fisheries Research, Production and Training Institute, told Anadolu that ICCAT applies a certain quota to countries every year regarding the catch of tuna fish and that Türkiye was given a quota of 2,500 tons this year.

Stressing that tuna fishing is an important resource for Türkiye, Erkan said they have focused on scientific studies with a view to increasing the quota and have launched the satellite monitoring project to obtain more detailed information about the fish.

"In accordance with international ethical rules, chips were implanted in the fins of 32 bluefin tuna taken to the ship deck with the help of cranes off the coast of Alanya. We will get exhaustive data on whether the fish go to the Atlantic, where they spawn, breed and feed in the Mediterranean,” he said.

"The devices will remain fixed on the fish for a year, and we will collect data for a year. When the device expires, it will disconnect from the fish, rise to the surface of the water, glean energy from the sun and transfer all the information to us. Hence, we will have an idea about many unsolvable, unknown, predicted but not clarified issues."

- Call on fishermen not to touch tuna that have devices

Emphasizing that the data to be attained could contribute to an increase in Türkiye's tuna quota, Erkan noted: “There is an opinion that bluefin tuna is an animal of Atlantic origin, but with the data we will get from here, maybe we will prove that these fish are animals that grow and breed in our own region. This will increase our quota.”

He highlighted that 13 fish were fitted with the devices two years ago but no successful results were obtained and that they preferred more equipped devices this year.

Erkan also called on fishermen to release any fish fitted with the devices if they come across them.

*Writing by Serdar Dincel from Istanbul