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bluefin tuna

    THE SCUTTLEBUTT

    Summer Weather Brings On the Blues

    Pacific tuna are rebounding; here’s hoping that’s true in the Atlantic, too

    By

    Fishing around the Outer Cape is heating up with this summer weather, which has been ideal; we are getting a fraction of the heat they’ve been feeling on the mainland.

    Striped bass fishing has improved dramatically, with the bulk of catches still between Race Point and Peaked Hill Bar. Trolling umbrella rigs and Jig-n-Eels remain the clear favorites, catching the most fish. But the bass have finally begun to chase and bite swimming plugs and poppers, too.

    About 30 percent of the fish we’ve been catching have been in the tight slot size for keepers. That number has finally crept up this week, and we’re seeing more slot-sized fish coming in than we have at any other time this season.

    This week we saw something that I don’t recall ever seeing before. We have had a fairly good-sized pod of humpback whales very near where we’ve been fishing for striped bass lately, though out a little farther into deeper water. These humpbacks are feeding on an enormous number of sand eels and herring, but we are also catching striped bass under the whales — and under the bait they are eating.

    Levi Joseph Pullman, 4, of Buckeye, Ariz. was determined to catch his first big fish, and he did, landing this jumbo bluefish with a little help from CeeJay mate Tammy Rabbett. (Photo by Mike Rathgeber)

    It’s pretty common to see bluefin tuna mixed in with feeding whales, and we’ll even see bluefish mingling with them, too. But with the striped bass, it’s always been a different story. But there they were out in the deep water, feeding with the whales. There are also quite a few bluefin tuna mixed in, and some are being caught there and around the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank.

    Bluefish made an appearance in the bay last week. It was quite a charge of fish from Wood End to Race Point until we got a wind shift from the southwest to the north, which brought in much colder water. Suddenly, the bluefish departed to parts unknown.

    I recorded a surface water temperature of 47° F one morning on the way out at Herring Cove. I’ll bet those beachgoers were surprised when they dipped their toes into the water that morning. It recovered slowly to the low 60s the next day, which still isn’t the optimal swimming temperature, though it’s way better than 47.

    NOAA reports that the Pacific bluefin tuna population is making a remarkable comeback. It looks like their endeavors, involving cooperative international action to end overfishing of Pacific bluefin, have resulted in new stock assessments that show that the species is increasing and that there are a good number of juvenile fish that should help accelerate the rebound. The new assessment was presented at a recent convention of the International Scientific Committee for Tuna and Tuna-Like Species in the North Pacific Ocean.

    The assessments confirmed that the current stock exceeded the goals of the first rebuilding target set in 2019. By later this year the population is projected to increase beyond the second rebuilding target established by the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission and Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission.

    Pacific tuna are not interconnected to Atlantic tuna, but NOAA is managing both species, so it stands to reason we should experience some success, too. Meanwhile many fishermen here — and I’m among them — question whether our East Coast numbers are all that low.

    THE SCUTTLEBUTT

    Reeling In the Trifecta: Bass, Blues, and a Bluefin

    The fishing’s been hot (maybe) because the weather has not

    By

    The summer’s hot fishing continues, with incredible catches of a variety of fish coming into Provincetown every day for the last week.

    Every once in a while, a charter or party-boat captain has a trip that is over the top in every way and, trust me, trips like that are remembered for a very long time.

    Caught on the Lisa Zee on July 5: fishing’s perfect trifecta of bass, blues, and a tuna. From left, Al Scanlon from Rhode Island, Kassie Ulrich from Minnesota, and Matt McGinness, another Rhode Islander. (Photo by Mike Rathgeber)

    Capt. Russ Zawaduk of the charter boat Lisa Zee had one of those trips last week. After catching big bluefish and keeper-size striped bass, they came upon a school of small “football” bluefin tuna, so they put a squid bar out and trolled it. A beautiful 49-inch tuna took one of the squid and they landed it, completing a perfect trifecta of bass, bluefish, and a bluefin tuna.

    I’m sure his passengers will never forget that epic trip with Capt. Russ. Capt. Rich Wood of the Beth Ann also got into some action last week and landed a small tuna.

    The giant bluefin are here on Stellwagen Bank, and catches were very good last week. But what’s up with seeing these small tuna around Provincetown this year?

    No one knows. But we do have an extraordinarily high number of sand eels this year, which perhaps explains it. Whatever it is, we hope it continues. These small noncommercial-size tuna bring a whole new dimension to charter boat fishing out of Provincetown.

    These fish have been going back and forth between Stellwagen Bank and Peaked Hill Bar. If you want to try your hand at catching one of them, you’re going to need a spinning reel that has a capacity of at least 300 yards of 60-pound braid to handle these very strong and fast fighters. If you’re trolling, again, your bigger reels and heavier rods are needed here. Squid bars seem to be working well. For the spinning reel efforts, big poppers or jigs seem to be the ticket.

    Striped bass have so far (knock on wood) not done their July thing and become scarce and finicky as to when they eat. I believe the lack of protracted heat waves with 90-degree-plus days has been the reason.

    Both air and water temperatures have remained relatively low and stable for July, and the long-range forecast has no significant heat waves in it all the way to the end of the month. Let’s hope.

    Bluefish remain elusive. We see them in the morning but not in the afternoon, and then vice versa, and some days we don’t see them at all. The backside ocean beaches by the Mission Bell to Head of the Meadow seem to be the most consistent place for them.

    Whale watching has been fantastic both from boats and from land. Fin whales seem settled into the Race for now, and there are a lot of humpbacks up on Stellwagen Bank, feeding actively. If we can get just another month of all this, it will be a supreme blessing for our waterfront businesses.

    THE SCUTTLEBUTT

    It’s Looking Like an Epic Summer

    The harbor returns to normalcy for a classic Fourth of July

    By

    The waterfront looked very much as it did in pre-pandemic days for Monday’s Fourth of July celebration, as both wharves were packed with cars and people waiting for the fireworks. Boats were jammed into the inner harbor as well, and charter boats were bringing customers out on fireworks sunset cruises. It was a sight for sore eyes, indeed. The fireworks show, I thought, wasn’t as robust as some in the past — but, hey, at this point, anything that resembles normalcy is very welcome.

    Provincetown in blue-sky, full-summer mode, which Capt. Mike Rathgeber says will last only three blinks of an eye. (Photo by Nancy Bloom)

    The striped-bass fishing remains white hot. This is shaping up to be a better-than-usual season, and if the bass don’t do their disappearing act or their not-wanting-to-bite thing, as they sometimes do in July, this summer could end up being epic.

    Large numbers of fish are camped from Wood End to the National Seashore ranger station at Race Point at depths from 20 to 150 feet. The ticket to catching them has been fresh bait — which has presented a challenge, because the mackerel that are typically found in the harbor and at Wood End have been out on Stellwagen Bank and haven’t budged. This means that if you want to bait fish you first have to make the run up there to get your bait. Five-dollar-a-gallon gasoline makes that task a bit hard on the checkbook and, for charter and party fishing boats, on the bottom line.

    Trolling has been less effective than using live bait, but the real disappointment has been an inability to catch bass consistently with swimming plugs or jigs. It’s been just one here or there.

    Bluefish have pretty much left the area for now, except for a few being caught down past the Pamet towards Billingsgate shoals. There is an abundance of small bluefin tuna around, however. These fish, in the 30-to-80-pound category, have been seen just north of the Race on up to Stellwagen Bank. We got into them one day on the CeeJay and hooked two but lost them both.

    National Marine Fisheries has now closed recreational bluefin tuna fishing for all fish over 73 inches for the remainder of the year. Those fish can now be taken only by those with commercial licenses.

    There are a lot of whales around, as of this writing. Fin whales have been seen feeding from off Herring Cove all the way to the Peaked Hill bar on the backside. One day we counted seven fin whales in that area — a nice bonus on a fishing trip. There are also a lot of humpback whales on the southern part of Stellwagen Bank, feeding on the enormous numbers of sand eels and mackerel there.

    I’ve always said summer goes by in three blinks of the eye: Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day. We have had two blinks, so now is the time to get out there and enjoy the great fishing and whale watching available to us before that third blink.

    THE SCUTTLEBUTT

    New Tuna Chasers Need an Etiquette Lesson

    Wicked Tuna converts are crowding the old-timers on Stellwagen

    By

    We finally got a week with somewhat normal summer weather, and fishing has been what it should be in midsummer. The bay seems very quiet right now; the cottages at Beach Point, the harbor, and the stretch of water between Long Point and Herring Cove have not seen much action lately. The waters off the Pamet, which usually have a lot of bluefish, have also been very quiet this summer.

    Western Atlantic bluefin tuna. (Photo Richard Hermann/PEW)

    Conversely, the area from Race Point all the way down to Cahoon Hollow Beach in Wellfleet has seen good action for both striped bass and bluefish, and the tuna are attracting a whole new crowd.

    The Provincetown fleet of charter boats has concentrated on the Race Rips and down towards the Race Station, with much success last week. Mackerel have finally come back into the bay and were caught in the Race as well as off Wood End and Long Point. This is great news for those of us who drift bait for bass and blues. On the Cee-Jay, we had to resort to driving to Chatham or New Bedford to get mackerel for bait for the last couple of weeks.

    Trollers using umbrella rigs did very well with bass and bluefish all last week. Fortunately, the brief north winds we got did not lower the water temperature too much, and it is actually perfect now. At 64 to 68 degrees, the water is neither too warm nor too cold, but just right for the fish that are currently here.

    Tuna fishing has dramatically improved, with the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank being the current hot spot. The fighting and screaming on the marine VHF radio between the tuna boats is as bad as or even worse than ever. The cable TV show Wicked Tuna has created a new crop of fishermen who believe all you need to do is get a boat and a commercial license and you, too, can be a tuna fisherman and make a ton of money.

    Unfortunately, it might work in theory but not in real life. The fleet at Stellwagen has been enormous, and a lot of the new guys do not know what’s appropriate in giving space to other boats when anchoring up, or how much space you need to give a boat fighting a fish. This is infuriating the guys who have been doing this for a long time and know the protocols. Hence, the screaming and cursing at one another over the radio.

    The fin whales are still cruising and feeding in the waters between Race Point and the Ranger Station, so keep looking offshore if you are on the beach over there.

    Great white sharks, which have been keeping a fairly low profile around here to date, are suddenly pinging the shark buoys and being spotted more and more by lifeguards and spotter planes. From what I hear, they spent a lot of time this summer in and around the waters off Long Island but are now filtering into our waters looking for seals. Stay tuned.

    The waterfront still looks very subdued, as the Covid outbreak has meant a significant reduction in the number of tourists in town and on the wharf. For a second consecutive season, local businesses are trying to make lemonade out of lemons.

    ENVIRONMENT

    At Tuna Negotiations, U.S. Rejects Advice of Scientists

    In a successful tuna fishing year, a threat that’s hard to see

    By

    bluefin
    Chuck Cataldo brought in this “wicked big” bluefin tuna last fall. The abundance of migrating Eastern Atlantic tuna obscures the losses in Western Atlantic stocks, scientists say. (Photo Nancy Bloom)

    In a decision being watched closely by Cape Cod fishermen, the U.S. is rejecting a proposal that calls for a reduction in the total catch limit of the Western Atlantic bluefin tuna.

    In current negotiations among member countries of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), many call for a 24-percent reduction in the catch, from 2,350 metric tons to 1,785 metric tons.

    The dispute pits the U.S. against other countries. It also pits fishermen, who see waters teeming with tuna, against scientists, who warn of imminent danger to the stocks.

    ICCAT scientists warn that the current quota creates a 94-percent chance of overfishing for the historically threatened bluefin. But without support from the U.S., a consensus will not be reached, and the current quota will remain in place, raising the strong chance of overfishing for 2021.

    Those favoring the reduction say it’s for business, not just environmental reasons. “Bluefin tuna has been the poster child for overfishing, and they are finally starting to regain their reputation in the market,” said Shana Miller, senior officer at the Ocean Foundation. “This would just undermine all of that progress and send it back to the red zone as one of the most irresponsibly managed stocks on the planet.”

    This year’s proposal to lower the quota comes after three years of raised quotas in response to growth in the stock. When the quota was first increased in 2017, ICCAT scientists warned that in 2020 it would have to be reduced again.

    “ICCAT increased the quota with that knowledge in mind,” said Miller. “Yet here we are three years later and it’s like the U.S. has amnesia.”

    This year, in an unprecedented move, the U.S. is questioning the validity of the science in the stock assessment and calling for an entirely new assessment in 2021.

    According to written statements to ICCAT, the U.S. — represented by a team of NOAA officers led by Andrew Lawler, a recent Trump political appointee — claims new data reveal unrecognized abundance.

    The U.S. points to 2019 and 2020 data that haven’t been included in the latest assessment from the small bluefin tuna recreational fishery, and says flaws in the indices used to assess the data are a reason to challenge the science.

    ICCAT scientists have agreed to look at the indices and see what improvements can be made, but according to officials advocating a reduced quota, that does not change the scientific advice that included the new quota of 1,785 metric tons.

    Grantly Galland, International Fisheries Officer at Pew Charitable Trusts worries the push to question the assessment is a blame the messenger phenomenon, born of the industry’s frustration with the findings, and, he said, “the government is buying into that.” The data being questioned is, he said, “an American data set that has been used for 22 years.”

    Galland added, “I am fully willing to admit that they may be seeing more bluefin than they have been seeing in recent times, and in another 2-3 years those fish will become part of the fishery, part of the assessment, and therefore the catch limits can go right back up. “But what we know now is that the best available science from this year says that the limit needs to come down.”

    Still, many in the industry share the view that the science is inaccurate. This year, what Cape Cod tuna fishermen saw on the water paints an entirely different picture than the one the stock assessments do.

    “I’ve had 35 very successful years of tuna fishing, but this year there were so many bluefin east of Chatham that the fishermen I work with didn’t even need a spotter pilot,” said Norman St. Pierre, longtime spotter pilot out of Chatham.

    Scientists and conservationists warn against taking the evidence on the water as the full truth.

    “That sort of anecdotal evidence of folks out on boats seeing a lot of bluefin is just not how we do stock assessment science,” said Galland. “The scientists are always trying to make sure they are right, and, if they are not sure, they are not going to offer advice that is detrimental to the fishermen.”

    Another factor contributing to the difference between anecdotal evidence from fishermen and stock assessments from scientists is that there are two Atlantic bluefin tuna stocks, an Eastern and a Western, spawning in the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Mexico, respectively.

    Cape Cod fishermen are controlled by the Western quota, but because the bluefin tuna is a highly migratory species, many of the fish that they see and catch here are coming from the much larger Eastern body of fish. The quota for the Eastern Atlantic is 36,000 metric tons, 15 times the size of the Western Atlantic quota.

    According to the 2017 stock assessment conducted by ICCAT scientists, the Western Atlantic bluefin tuna biomass is at approximately 18 percent of its 1950 population. But with a massive Eastern stock swimming in American waters, the overfishing and depletion of the Western Atlantic bluefin tuna is not noticeable on the water.

    And though the species co-mingle, and can be told apart only by genetics, maintaining the Western stock is incredibly important for the U.S. commercial fishery.

    “We don’t want to rely on fish coming from the East because then the decisions are taken out of our hands,” explained Galland. “If we put our Western population to the point of being threatened, then we are relying on folks in the East to make good decisions. That’s why it really is important to negotiate over a couple hundred tons in the West because the stock is so vulnerable to overfishing in the long run.”

    And in the context of climate change, the Western stock that spawns in the warmer Gulf of Mexico is much more tolerant of warmer temperatures. “That is incredibly important to preserve,” said Miller.

    With at least a week left of email negotiations, the 2021 bluefin tuna quota remains uncertain. If the U.S. remains steadfast in its opposition to a lower quota, then a rollover will occur for 2021. Though it would be a win for the industry at large, it might set up further reductions in 2022 and 2023.

    What it boils down to, Galland said, is whether science will shape management or we’ll see “a return to the old days of putting short term political decisions ahead of long-term sustainability.”

    THE SCUTTLEBUTT

    North Winds Portend Cooling Waters

    Wrapping up the season with hopes for the next one

    By

    There is no mistaking it: the fall season is upon us. Unrelenting winds from northerly quadrants have been buffeting us for days on end, and, as of this writing, the remnants of Hurricane Teddy were supposed to give us a substantial groundswell along with gale-force north winds of up to 40 miles per hour on Tuesday.

    Commercial and recreational fishing boats have been tied the docks for a few days, so reports are nonexistent. The day before the winds started, some really nice striped bass catches took place in the rips at Race Point, and there were a lot of bluefish down back off the dune shacks.

    Water temperatures are slowly declining and were mostly in the mid to high 50s, but I am afraid that after these north winds subside we’re going to be looking at temperatures in the high 40s to low 50s. This could be the catalyst that makes both striped bass and bluefish begin their southern migration. Bluefish head to the Outer Banks of North Carolina and striped bass go to Chesapeake Bay.

    We won’t know, of course, what’s around and what has departed until we can get out there, which currently looks like Thursday at the earliest.

    Mason Santos, whose first bonito was pictured on this page on Sept. 3, parlayed that success into his first giant tuna, caught with his Uncle Jimmy a week later. (Photo Noah Santos)

    Tuna fishing very close to home was hot before the blow, as the deep waters off Beach Point and Long Point yielded some giants. This attracted commercial tuna fishermen from out of our area to Provincetown Marina to stay for a few days and try and get in on the action. Even a few of the Wicked Tuna heavy hitters showed up to the party.

    Recapping the season, it was a much better year for bluefish, as a rather large body of small- to medium-size fish stayed in the bay for most of the summer, providing great light tackle action. Striped bass came in June and stayed for the entire summer, something they don’t typically do.

    The most consistent hot spot for bass unquestionably was Race Point. Both surf casters and boaters were able to catch them, but the vast majority of these fish were shorts in the 25-to-27-inch range. This bodes well for the next few years. Flounder fishing was very good off Wellfleet for the entire summer, and it remains extremely underfished recreationally. Fluke were pretty much a no-show again, for the sixth consecutive year. Mackerel were in and out, but mostly in, which made bait fishing for stripers easy to accomplish. There was an astronomical number of pogies in the bay all summer long as well. Tuna fishing was pretty good for giants, both in the bay and up on Stellwagen Bank, but there do not seem to be a lot of smaller bluefins in our area.

    This a bit worrying.

    A few weeks ago I wrote about a few young local boys and men keeping the fishing tradition alive in Provincetown and showed a photograph of young Mason Santos with his first nice-sized bonito. Mason appears to be fast tracking his way up, because now he has helped his Uncle Jimmy land a giant tuna. Good job, Mason.

    Well, for me it’s now time to put my boat “on the hard” and head north to my mountain home for the winter, with hope that next season we are not still dealing with Covid issues and the fish are here and biting. Until then, stay safe.

    THE SCUTTLEBUTT

    A Noble Rite of Passage Lives On

    Zach Salvador brings in his first giant bluefin

    By

    One of the biggest heartbreaks for me through the years living here every summer is watching this classic fishing village become less and less of that. Families who could no longer make a decent living fishing have had to pull up stakes and leave, one by one.

    With the mass exodus of fishing families came the evaporation of deep-rooted traditions. Generations of seasoned salty men teaching the next generation their craft and passing down the skills of fishing and seamanship and the wisdom of the sea.

    When I ran the Cee-Jay back in the 1990s, getting a mate to work on the boat for the summer was easy. There were many sons of commercial fishing captains and mates willing and able to do the work — and they came with a solid set of skills. Today it is extremely difficult to find a warm body who wants to be a mate, never mind a mate with fishing and boating skills.

    I was always envious of the father-son teaching dynamic in the fishing world, as I came from a family of airline workers and didn’t get to experience that. I was the only one in my family who pined for the sea and fishing. Consequently, I had to learn the craft on my own from good-hearted but nonfamily mentors.

    Which brings me to Zach Salvador.

    Zach caught his first solo giant bluefin tuna last week. It was a beauty, too, and in a tight, thin market for bluefin, it got sold and shipped to Japan.

    On the surface, this is no big deal. Guys and gals bring in giant bluefin tuna all the time here. It’s part of Provincetown’s charm.

    But when you peel back the layers, you find something extraordinary.

    Zach learned the craft of bluefin tuna fishing from his dad, Jon, who learned it from his dad, Edward. It is comforting to know the age-old tradition of passing down methods and tricks of catching fish from generation to generation is still happening in our little fishing town, albeit on a much smaller scale than it once was.

    It warmed my heart to see this. Zach will never forget his first solo giant. One never does. I remember mine as if it happened yesterday. I remember every single detail about it, but mostly I remember a feeling of joy and pride unlike anything I had ever felt before at that stage in my life. I was walking on a cloud for days.

    Four generations of Salvadors. Left to right: Edward, Zach, young Jon Nicola, who is held by his grandfather, Jon. (Photo Wendy Salvador)

    So, well done, Zach. The Salvadors are keeping this tradition alive, and for that I applaud them. The day may come when it no longer exists. But for now, this noble rite of passage still has a heartbeat in Provincetown. We ain’t done yet.

    On the local fishing front, bluefish have returned to our waters since their disappearance after our summer nor’easter, but it hasn’t been as good as it was before. The fish aren’t as widespread as they were, and they have been finicky about biting.

    Striped bass are still camped solidly from Herring Cove to the Race, but are also being very finicky about eating. Mackerel have pretty much departed the bay and are sporadically in the rips at the Race, so getting bait for bass fishing has been a bit challenging at times.

    Flounder fishing remains very good, with the same few guys limiting out regularly. We caught a few keeper fluke on the Cee-Jay last week, and I would say it’s probably worth a try to drift with some sand eels and bucktails along the shoal waters of Herring Cove and Hatches Harbor.

    Bonito are also being caught here and there in the bay by fishermen targeting bluefish and bass.

    ECONOMY

    Ranches and Covid Add to Tuna Market Troubles

    If you see it on the menu, ask where it comes from

    By

    PROVINCETOWN — On a calm, sunny day, the word was out among fishermen: big schools of Atlantic bluefin tuna were active and feeding just a few miles off the backside beach. But on a late July day perfect for fishing, many of the commercial boats that go after tuna remained tied up at the pier.

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