Normally if don't do much in the Atlantic anymore (even if I started there). But my friend Pedro Güemes is now the Publicity and Tag Recovery Coordinator Atlantic Ocean Tropical Tuna Tagging Programme (AOTTP), a big job.
My friend Cynthia Wickham tagging tuna in middle of the Pacific
The overall objective of the Atlantic Ocean Tropical Tuna Tagging Programme (AOTTP) is to contribute to the food security and economic growth of the Atlantic coastal states by ensuring sustainable management of their tropical tuna resources. Specifically the AOTTP will use the information it collects on tuna stocks in the Atlantic to provide improved and updated scientific advice to developing coastal states, and other Contracting Parties, enabling them to adopt appropriate Conservation and Management Measures (CMMs) for tunas in the framework of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).
AOTTP will collect tag-recapture, and associated data, for the main tropical tuna species in the Atlantic Ocean. Neritic species will also be tagged in an ad hoc manner. The data will be used to calculate key population parameters in support of stock assessments (e.g. growth rates, natural mortality, exploitation rates and stock structure) and subsequent management. Scientists from relevant Contracting Parties of ICCAT will be trained in tagging, data-collection and the use of tagging data in stock assessment and management.
And they are calling for tenders to the First Tagging Recovery Programme (January 2016 to June 2017) outlined in the External Action of the European Union DCI- FOOD/2015/ 361-161, and approved by the AOTTP Steering Committee.
Tuna Tagging is vital from the scientific perspective and a fun to be on. If you belong to a fisheries institution, NGOs, University and have the chance to form a consortium to tender for it, have a go.
The document tenders are here in English and here in Spanish
Here in the Pacific SPC are world references n the issue and sure we can lend a hand, even if we are way to far to provide vessels and so on. See some of the videos that show what and how is done.