Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Movements of bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean recorded by pop-up satellite archival tags

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Marine Biology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Pop-up satellite archival tags were implanted into 68 Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus Linnaeus), ranging in size from 91 to 295 kg, in the southern Gulf of Maine (n=67) and off the coast of North Carolina (n=1) between July 2002 and January 2003. Individuals tagged in the Gulf of Maine left that area in late fall and overwintered in northern shelf waters, off the coasts of Virginia and North Carolina, or in offshore waters of the northwestern Atlantic Ocean. In spring, the fish moved either northwards towards the Gulf of Maine or offshore. None of the fish crossed the 45°W management line (separating eastern and western management units) and none traveled towards the Gulf of Mexico or the Straits of Florida (known western Atlantic spawning grounds). The greatest depth recorded was 672 m and the fish experienced temperatures ranging from 3.4 to 28.7°C. Swimming depth was significantly correlated with location, season, size class, time of day, and moon phase. There was also evidence of synchronous vertical behavior and changes in depth distribution in relation to oceanographic features.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2A–C
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Arnold G, Dewar H (2001) Electronic tags in marine fisheries research: a 30-year perspective. In: Sibert JR, Nielsen JL (eds) Electronic tagging and tracking in marine fisheries. Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp 7–64

  • Baglin RE Jr (1976) A preliminary study of the gonadal development and fecundity of the western Atlantic bluefin tuna. ICCAT Coll Vol Sci Pap 5:279–289

    Google Scholar 

  • Baglin RE Jr (1982) Reproductive biology of western Atlantic bluefin tuna. Fish Bull 80:121–134

    Google Scholar 

  • Bigelow K, Hampton J, Miyabe N (2002) Application of a habitat-based model to estimate effective longline fishing effort and relative abundance of Pacific bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus). Fish Oceanogr 11:143–155

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blaxter JHS, Parrish BB (1965) The importance of light in shoaling, avoidance of nets and vertical migration by herring. J Cons Int Explor Mer 30:40–57

    Google Scholar 

  • Block BA, Keen JE, Castillo B, Dewar H, Freund EV, Marcinek DJ, Brill RW, Farwell C (1997) Environmental preferences of yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) at the northern extent of its range. Mar Biol 130:119–132

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Block BA, Dewar H, Farwell C, Prince ED (1998) A new satellite technology for tracking the movements of Atlantic bluefin tuna. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 95:9384–9389

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Block BA, Dewar H, Blackwell SB, Williams TD, Prince ED, Farwell CJ, Boustany A, Teo SL, Seitz A, Walli A, Fudge D (2001a) Migratory movements, depth preferences, and thermal biology of Atlantic bluefin tuna. Science 293:1310–1314

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Block BA, Dewar H, Blackwell SB, Williams T, Prince E, Boustany AM, Farwell C, Dau DJ, Seitz A (2001b) Archival and pop-up satellite tagging of Atlantic bluefin tuna. In: Sibert JR, Nielsen JL (eds) Electronic tagging and tracking in marine fisheries. Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp 65–88

  • Boden BP, Kampa EM (1967) The influence of natural light on the vertical migrations of an animal community in the sea. Symp Zool Soc Lond 19:15–26

    Google Scholar 

  • Boustany AM, Marcinek DJ, Keen J, Dewar H, Block BA (2001) Movements and temperature preferences of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) off North Carolina: a comparison of acoustic, archival and pop-up satellite tags. In: Sibert JR, Nielsen JL (eds) Electronic tagging and tracking in marine fisheries. Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp 65–88

  • Brill RW, Lutcavage ME (2001) Understanding environmental influences on movements and depth distributions of tunas and billfishes can significantly improve population assessments. In: Sedberry GR (ed) Proceedings of the Charleston Bump Colloquium, Am Fish Soc Symp 25:179–198

  • Brill RW, Dewar H, Graham JB (1994) Basic concepts relevant to heat transfer in fishes, and their use in measuring the physiological thermoregulatory abilities of tunas. Environ Biol Fish 40:109–124

    Google Scholar 

  • Brill RW, Block BA, Boggs CH, Bigelow KA, Freund EV, Marcinek DJ (1999) Horizontal movements and depth distribution of large adult yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) near the Hawaiian Islands, recorded using ultrasonic telemetry: implications for the physiological ecology of pelagic fishes. Mar Biol 133:395–408

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brill R, Lutcavage M, Metzger G, Bushnell P, Arendt M, Lucy J, Watson C, Foley D (2002) Horizontal and vertical movements of juvenile bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) in relation to oceanographic conditions of the western North Atlantic, determined with ultrasonic telemetry. Fish Bull 100:155–167

    Google Scholar 

  • Bullis HR Jr, Captiva FJ (1955) Preliminary report on exploratory long-line fishing for tuna in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. Comm Fish Rev 17:1–20

    Google Scholar 

  • Carey FG (1990) Further acoustic telemetry observations of swordfish. In: Stroud R (ed) Proceedings of the second international billfish symposium. Planning the future of billfishes: research and management in the 90’s and beyond. National Coalition for Marine Conservation, Savannah, pp 103–122

    Google Scholar 

  • Carey FG, Lawson KD (1973) Temperature regulation in free-swimming bluefin tuna. Comp Biochem Physiol 44A:375-

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carey FG, Robison BH (1981) Daily patterns in the activities of swordfish, Xiphias gladius, observed by acoustic telemetry. Fish Bull 79:277–292

    Google Scholar 

  • Carey FG, Scharold JV (1990) Movements of blue sharks (Prionace glauca) in depth and course. Mar Biol 106:329–342

    Google Scholar 

  • Chaprales W, Lutcavage M, Brill R, Chase B, Skomal G (1998) Harpoon method for attaching ultrasonic and “popup” satellite tags to giant bluefin tuna and large pelagic fishes. Mar Technol Soc J 32:104–105

    Google Scholar 

  • Chase BC (2002) Differences in diet of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) at five seasonal feeding grounds on the New England continental shelf. Fish Bull 100:168–180

    Google Scholar 

  • Crane J (1936) Notes on the biology and ecology of giant tuna Thunnus thynnus, L., observed at Portland, Maine. Zoologica 212:207–212

    Google Scholar 

  • Dagorn L, Bach P, Josse E (2000) Movement patterns of large bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) in the open ocean, determined using ultrasonic telemetry. Mar Biol 136:361–371

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis TLO, Stanley CA (2002) Vertical and horizontal movements of southern bluefin tuna (Thunnus maccoyii) in the Great Australian Bight observed with ultrasonic telemetry. Fish Bull 100:448–465

    Google Scholar 

  • Diggle PJ, Liang K-Y, Zeger SL (1994) Analysis of longitudinal data. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

  • Graves JE, Kerstetter DW, Luckhurst BW, Prince ED (2003) Habitat preferences of billfishes in the western North Atlantic: applicability of archival tag data to habitat-based stock assessment methodologies. ICCAT Coll Vol Sci Pap 55:594–602

    Google Scholar 

  • Gunn J, Block B (2001) Advances in acoustic, archival and satellite tagging of tunas. In: Block BA, Stevens ED (eds) Tuna: physiology, ecology and evolution. Academic Press, San Diego, pp 167–224

  • Gunn JS, Stevens JD, Davis TLO, Norman BM (1999) Observations on the short-term movements and behaviour of whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia. Mar Biol 135:553–559

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hinton MG, Nakano H (1996) Standardizing catch and effort statistics using physiological, ecological, or behavioral constraints and environmental data, with an application to blue marlin (Makaira nigricans) catch and effort data from Japanese longline fisheries in the Pacific. Bull Inter-Am Trop Tuna Comm 21:171–200

    Google Scholar 

  • Holland KN, Brill RW, Chang RKC (1990) Horizontal and vertical movements of Pacific blue marlin captured and released using sportfishing gear. Fish Bull 88:397–402

    Google Scholar 

  • Holland KN, Brill RW, Sibert JR, Fournier DA (1992) Physiological and behavioral thermoregulation in bigeye tuna Thunnus obesus. Nature 358:410–412

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hooge PN, Eichenlaub B (1997) Animal movement extension to ArcView, version 2.04. Alaska Biological Science Center, US Geological Survey, Anchorage, AK

  • ICCAT (2001) Report of the ICCAT workshop on bluefin mixing (Madrid, 3–7 September, 2001). ICCAT working document SCRS/01/20

  • Itoh T, Tsuji S, Nitta A (2003) Swimming depth, ambient water temperature preference, and feeding frequency of young Pacific bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis) determined with archival tags. Fish Bull 101:535–544

    Google Scholar 

  • Josse E, Bach P, Dagorn L (1998) Simultaneous sonic observations of tuna movements and their prey by sonic tracking and acoustic surveys. Hydrobiologia 372:61–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kitagawa T, Nakata H, Kimura S, Itoh T, Tsuji S, Nitta A (2000) Effect of ambient temperature on the vertical distribution and movement of Pacific bluefin tuna Thunnus thynnus orientalis. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 206:251–260

    Google Scholar 

  • Klimley AP, Beavers SC, Curtis TH, Jorgensen SJ (2002) Movements and swimming behavior of three species of sharks in La Jolla Canyon, California. Environ Biol Fish 63:117–135

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liang K-Y, Zeger SL (1986) Longitudinal data analysis using generalized linear models. Biometrika 73:13–22

    Google Scholar 

  • Lutcavage M, Kraus S (1995) The feasibility of direct photographic assessment of giant bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus, in New England waters. Fish Bull 93:495–503

    Google Scholar 

  • Lutcavage M, Luckhurst B (2002) Consensus document: workshop on the biology of bluefin tuna in the mid-Atlantic 5–7 May 2000, Hamilton, Bermuda. ICCAT Coll Vol Sci Pap 52:803–808

    Google Scholar 

  • Lutcavage ME, Brill RW, Skomal GB, Chase BC, Howey PW (1999) 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? Can J Fish Aquat Sci 56:173–177

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lutcavage ME, Brill RW, Skomal GB, Chase BC, Goldstein JL, Tutein J (2000) Tracking adult North Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) in the northwestern Atlantic using ultrasonic telemetry. Mar Biol 137:347–358

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marcinek DJ, Blackwell SB, Dewar H, Freund EV, Farwell C, Dau D, Seitz AC, Block BA (2001) Depth and muscle temperature of Pacific bluefin tuna examined with acoustic and pop-up satellite archival tags. Mar Biol 138:869–885

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mather FJ (1974) The bluefin tuna situation. Proc 16th Annu Int Game Fish Res Conf 17:93–106

    Google Scholar 

  • Mather FJ, Mason JM Jr, Jones AC (1995) Historical document: life history and fisheries of Atlantic bluefin tuna. NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-SEFSC-370

    Google Scholar 

  • Matthews FD, Damkaer DM, Knapp LW, Collette BB (1977) Food of western North Atlantic tunas (Thunnus) and lancetfish (Alepisaurus). NOAA Technical Report NMFS SSRF-706

  • McCullagh P, Nelder JA (1989) Generalized linear models. Chapman and Hall, London

  • McGowan MF, Richards WJ (1989) Bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus, larvae in the Gulf Stream off the southeastern United States: satellite and shipboard observations of their environment. Fish Bull 87:615–631

    Google Scholar 

  • Musyl MK, Brill RW, Curran DS, Gunn JS, Hartog JR, Hill RD, Welch DW, Eveson JP, Boggs CH, Brainard RE (2001) Ability of archival tags to provide estimates of geographical position based on light intensity. In: Sibert JR, Nielsen JL (eds) Electronic tagging and tracking in marine fisheries. Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp 343–367

  • Musyl MK, Brill RW, Boggs CH, Curran DS, Kazama TK, Seki MP (2003) Vertical movements of bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) associated with islands, buoys, and seamounts near the main Hawaiian Islands from archival tagging data. Fish Oceanogr 12:152–169

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nakamura H (1965) Tuna distribution and migration. Fishing News, London

  • NRC (National Research Council) (1994) An assessment of Atlantic bluefin tuna. National Research Council. National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.

  • Neill WH, Stevens ED (1974) Thermal inertia versus thermoregulation in ‘warm’ turtles and tunas. Science 184:1008–1010

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Neill WH, Chang RKC, Dizon AE (1976) Magnitude and ecological implications of thermal inertia in skipjack tuna, Katsuwonus pelamis (Linnaeus). Environ Biol Fish 1:61–80

    Google Scholar 

  • Nelson DR, McKibben JN, Strong WR Jr, Lowe CG, Sisneros JA, Schroeder DM, Lavenberg RJ (1997) An acoustic tracking of a megamouth shark, Megachasma pelagios: a crepuscular vertical migrator. Environ Biol Fish 49:389–399

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nemerson D, Berkeley S, Safina C (2000) Spawning site fidelity in Atlantic bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus: the use of size-frequency analysis to test for the presence of migrant east Atlantic bluefin tuna in the Gulf of Mexico spawning grounds. Fish Bull 98:118–126

    Google Scholar 

  • Newlands NK, Lutcavage ME, Pitcher TJ (2004) Analysis of foraging movements of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus): individuals switch between two modes of search behaviour. Popul Ecol (in press)

  • Richards WJ (1976) Spawning of bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) in the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas. ICCAT Coll Vol Sci Pap 5(2):267–278

    Google Scholar 

  • Rivas LR (1954) A preliminary report on the spawning of the western north Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) in the Straits of Florida. Bull Mar Sci Gulf Carib 4:302–322

    Google Scholar 

  • Rodriguez-Roda J (1967) El atun, Thunnus thynnus (L.) del sur de Espana, en la campana almadrabera del ano 1966. Invest Pesq 31:349–359

    Google Scholar 

  • Roffer MA (1987) Influence of the environment on the distribution and relative apparent abundance of juvenile Atlantic bluefin tuna along the United States east coast. PhD thesis, University of Miami

  • Roule L (1924) Êtude sur les déplacements et la pêche du thon (Orcynus thynnus L.) en Tunisie et dans la Méditerranée occidentale. Bull Sta Oceanogr Salammbo 2:1–39

    Google Scholar 

  • Schaefer KM (2001) Reproductive biology of tunas. In: Block BA, Stevens ED (eds) Tuna: physiology, ecology and evolution. Academic Press, San Diego, pp 225–270

  • Schaefer KM, Fuller DW (2002) Movements, behavior, and habitat selection of bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) in the eastern equatorial Pacific, ascertained through archival tags. Fish Bull 100:765–788

    Google Scholar 

  • Searle SR, Speed FM, Milliken GA (1980) Population marginal means in the linear model: an alternative to least square means. Am Stat 34:216–221

    Google Scholar 

  • Secor DH, Campana SE, Zdanowicz VS, Lam JWH, Yang L, Rooker JR (2002) Inter-laboratory comparison of Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna otolith microconstituents. ICES J Mar Sci 59:1294–1304

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sibert J, Fournier D (2001) Possible models for combining tracking data with conventional tracking data. In: Sibert JR, Nielsen JL (eds) Electronic tagging and tracking in marine fisheries. Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp 443–456

  • Sibert J, Musyl MK, Brill RW (2003) Horizontal movements of bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) near Hawaii determined by Kalman filter analysis of archival tagging data. Fish Oceanogr 12:141–152

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silverman BW (1986) Density estimation for statistics and data analysis. Chapman and Hall, London

  • Sissenwine MP, Mace PM, Powers JE, Scott GP (1998) A commentary on western Atlantic bluefin tuna assessments. Trans Am Fish Soc 127:838–855

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sokal RR, Rohlf FJ (1981) Biometry. Freeman, San Francisco

  • Suzuki Z, Ishizuka Y (1990) Comparison of population characteristics of world bluefin stocks, with special reference to the west Atlantic bluefin stock. ICCAT Coll Vol Sci Pap 35:240–243

    Google Scholar 

  • Tiews K (1963) Synopsis of biological data on bluefin tuna Thunnus thynnus (Linnaeus) 1758 (Atlantic and Mediterranean). FAO Fish Rep 6:422–481

    Google Scholar 

  • Weihs D (1973) Mechanically efficient swimming techniques for fish with negative buoyancy. J Mar Res 31:194–209

    Google Scholar 

  • Werner FE, Blanton BO, Quinlan JA, Luettich RA Jr (1999) Physical oceanography of the North Carolina continental shelf during the fall and winter seasons: implications for the transport of larval menhaden. Fish Oceanogr 8 [Suppl 2]:7–21

  • West GJ, Stevens JD (2001) Archival tagging of school shark, Galeorhinus galeus, in Australia: initial results. Environ Biol Fish 60:283–298

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Westerberg H (1984) The orientation of fish and the vertical stratification at fine- and micro-structure scales. In: McCleave JD, Arnold GP Dodson JJ, Neill WH (eds) Mechanisms of migration in fishes. Plenum Press, New York, pp 179–203

  • Wilson PC, Bartlett MR (1967) Inventory of U.S. exploratory longline fishing effort and catch rates for tunas and swordfish in the northwestern Atlantic 1957–1965. U.S. Fish Wildl Serv Spec Sci Rep Fish 543:1–52

    Google Scholar 

  • Worton BJ (1989) Kernel methods for estimating the utilization distribution in home-range studies. Ecology 70:164–168

    Google Scholar 

  • Young JW, Lamb TD, Le D, Bradford RW, Whitelaw AW (1997) Feeding ecology and interannual variations in diet of southern bluefin tuna, Thunnus maccoyii, in relation to coastal and oceanic waters off eastern Tasmania, Australia. Environ Biol Fish 50:275–291

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yuen HSH (1970) Behavior of skipjack tuna, Katsuwonus pelamis, as determined by tracking with ultrasonic telemetry. J Fish Res Board Can 27:2071–2079

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Anthony Genovese, Mark Genovese and the crew of the F.V. “White Dove Too”, Captain Edward Murray Jr. and Anthony Mendillo of the F.V. “Cookie Too”, and Captain Paul Evans and the crew of the F.V. “Striker” for their assistance in this project. We also thank Al Barker, Frank Cyganowski, Michael Dormier, Jim Hannon and Sippican, George Harms, Paul Howey, Jon Lucy, Anders Nielsen, John Sibert, Donald Stott Jr., and Dave Thompson for their valuable contributions. This work was supported by a grant from the National Marine Fisheries Service (grant no. NA16FM2840) to Molly Lutcavage. This paper is dedicated to the memory of Pete Wilson (not related).

Author information

Author notes

  1. S. G. Wilson

    Present address: Department of Zoology, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, 03824, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Edgerton Research Laboratory, New England Aquarium, Boston, MA, 02110, USA

    S. G. Wilson, M. E. Lutcavage & A. W. Everly

  2. Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Gloucester Point, VA, 23062, USA

    R. W. Brill

  3. F.V. “White Dove Too”, Cape May, NJ, 08210, USA

    M. P. Genovese

  4. Department of Natural Resources, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, 03824, USA

    A. B. Cooper

  5. Department of Zoology, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, 03824, USA

    M. E. Lutcavage

Authors
  1. S. G. Wilson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. M. E. Lutcavage
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. R. W. Brill
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. M. P. Genovese
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. A. B. Cooper
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. A. W. Everly
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to S. G. Wilson.

Additional information

Communicated by J.P. Grassle, New Brunswick

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wilson, S.G., Lutcavage, M.E., Brill, R.W. et al. Movements of bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean recorded by pop-up satellite archival tags. Marine Biology 146, 409–423 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-004-1445-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-004-1445-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation