Discovery of a spawning ground reveals diverse migration strategies in Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus)
- 7 March 2016
- journal article
- research article
- Published by National Academy of Sciences in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Vol. 113 (12) , 3299-3304
Abstract
Significance: We present unequivocal evidence that Atlantic bluefin tuna spawn in the Slope Sea, counter to the current assumption that the Gulf of Mexico and Mediterranean Sea are the exclusive spawning grounds. We also demonstrate that age at maturity of western bluefin tuna is currently overestimated, that this stock exhibits size-structured spawning migrations, and that migratory connections exist between western and eastern Atlantic spawning grounds. Atlantic bluefin tuna support a highly contentious international fishery, and our results present an alternate life history model to inform the management of this species. The implications of our work are most pronounced for western Atlantic bluefin tuna, which have a life history less vulnerable to overexploitation and extinction than is currently estimated.Keywords
This publication has 47 references indexed in Scilit:
- Spawning Behaviour and Post-Spawning Migration Patterns of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus thynnus) Ascertained from Satellite Archival TagsPLOS ONE, 2013
- Dispersal Routes and Habitat Utilization of Juvenile Atlantic Bluefin Tuna, Thunnus thynnus, Tracked with Mini PSAT and Archival TagsPLOS ONE, 2012
- Atlantic Bluefin Tuna: A Novel Multistock Spatial Model for Assessing Population BiomassPLOS ONE, 2011
- Collection of Larval Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus Thynnus) Outside Documented Western Atlantic Spawning GroundsBulletin of Marine Science, 2011
- Predicting the occurrence of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) larvae in the northern Gulf of Mexico: building a classification model from archival dataFisheries Oceanography, 2010
- Updated estimate of the growth curve of Western Atlantic bluefin tunaAquatic Living Resources, 2010
- Distinctions in the diets and distributions of larval tunas and the important role of appendiculariansLimnology and Oceanography, 2010
- Fronts and eddies as key structures in the habitat of marine fish larvae: opportunity, adaptive response and competitive advantageScientia Marina, 2006
- Results of pop-up satellite tagging of spawning size class fish in the Gulf of Maine: do North Atlantic bluefin tuna spawn in the mid-Atlantic?Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 1999
- Life history correlates of responses to fisheries exploitationProceedings Of The Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 1998