October 10, 2019

Atlantic Tuna and Swordfish Landings Updates

NOAA fisheries announced third quarter landing updates for bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna, bigeye tuna, skipjack tuna, northern albacore, and swordfish. These landings include all fish landed commercially and recreationally by United States vessels in the Atlantic Ocean from January 1st through August 31st, 2019. The changes as compared to last year are summarized below:

Species How have Landings Changed From 2018? How Much Have Landings Changed?
Swordfish Increased 630.2 mt
Bluefin Tuna Increased 30 mt / 644 fish
Bigeye Tuna Increased 78.5 mt
Northern Albacore Increased 18.7 mt
Yellowfin Tuna Decreased 61.3 mt
Skipjack Tuna Decreased 1.7 mt

More detailed summaries of the 2019 third quarter landings updates for each individual fish are also included below:

Swordfish:

Category Landings (mt dw) 2018 Landings
Commercial Directed 1/1-6/30 458.8 334.3
Commercial Directed 7/1-12/31 139.7 104.1
Commercial Bycatch 5.7 5.8
Recreational 26 18.1
Total 630.2 462.2

Bluefin Tuna:

Category 2019 Number of Fish 2019 Total Weight 2018 Number of Fish 2018 Total Weight
General 2,258 385.8 mt 2,151 387.2 mt
Harpoon 737 102.4 mt 153 26.6 mt
Longline 396 74.2 mt 444 83.2 mt
Trap 1 .3 mt 0 0 mt
Total 3,392 526.6 mt 2,748 497 mt

Other Tuna:

Species 2019 Landings 2018 Landings
Bigeye Tuna 216.4 mt 137.9 mt
Northern Albacore 81.5 mt 62.8mt
Yellowfin Tuna 550.1 mt 611.4 mt
Skipjack Tuna 3.7 mt 5.4 mt

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