80 

 60 

 40 

 20 



1976 



- ^^- Caiaquel 



I I - Prince Edwraid Island 



il 40- 



20- 



80 



60- 



40 



20 



100 



-f=JS^ 





p 



ThvfT - 



-"■H 



1975 



^ f 



-^ 



ral 



^3 



i 



- 1 R'pq . 



1974 



iU 



ni 



200 



^1 



? '^--^i 

 2 



1^ 



100 400 



W«ighl ( 10 kg groupings) 



500 



Figure 17. Weights of giant bluefin tuna caught by rod and reel in the Gulf of SL 

 Lawrence (1974-1976). 



methods in the New England area 

 (Figure 22) (Bigelow and Schroeder 

 1953, Wilson 1965). The traps, which 

 were formerly numerous in Cape Cod 

 Bay, took considerable quantities of 

 these tuna m years of abundance, but 

 the fishery there was termmated in 

 1975. Operators of various types of 

 commercial fishing craft, such as lob- 

 ster boats and small trawlers, occa- 

 sionally harpooned bluefin or caught 

 them with handlines. This activity 

 was usually incidental to their nor- 

 mal pursuits or undertaken tempo- 

 rarily during periods when tuna were 

 readily available and commanded a 

 reasonable price. 



Sport fishing for bluefin tuna 

 developed in the area in the 1930s 

 (Farrington 1939) and increased in 

 popularity after World War II 

 (Farrington 1949). Pre-war activity 

 centered in Ipswich Bay, Massachu- 

 setts, and Casco Bay, Maine. After 

 the war the popularity of sport tuna 

 fishing spread into Massachusetts and 

 Cape Cod Bays as well. Some of the 

 most successful giant tuna tourna- 

 ments ever held have taken place in, 



effort to capitalize on the high late 

 season prices, two impoundment nets 

 were constructed in the Bay in 1975. 

 Each impoundment measured about 

 100 m X 50 m, and was in water about 

 20 m deep. Fifty bluefin were trans- 

 ferred from neighboring traps to the 

 pounds. They were fed on trash fish 

 and held for a period of two or three 

 months. Then they were killed in 

 small batches, to avoid depressing the 

 price, and sold on the Japanese mar- 

 ket. The experiment was so success- 

 ful that nine impoundments were con- 

 structed m 1976, and about 300 blue- 

 fin were held and fattened. 



Butler (1977) showed the loca- 

 tions of the traps and impoundments 

 in St. Margaret's Bay and discussed 

 past and proposed research activities 

 in this unique situation 



iv. Cape Cod to Maine 



Bluefin tuna have occurred in 

 many sizes and been fished by many 





30 r 



20 



10 - 



30 1- 



20 





 30 



20 - 



10 - 



150 200 



LENGTH icm) 



250 300 



Figure 18 Lengths for bluefin tuna captured off Prince Edward Island (1969- 

 1971). 



22 



