"One must not believe that Wicked Tuna has any base or "Reality" to actual catch efforts or ex vessel prices. It is a hollywood production, and nothing more. Please consider this. Atlantic Bluefin are caught in the general category by rod and reel or Harpoon. One fish, one at a time. We as fisherman get an average of $9 per pound average for our Bluefin. See the NOAA SAFE REPORT on their website. Less than scallops per pound, we never see the hollywood numbers as one may perceive as truth. What you don't see in the show, thanks to editing, is how much time is spent on the water catching Bluefin in the Gulf of Maine. Many of those boats spend upwards of 5 days at sea. Its all for show. There are no floating factories, long liners or draggers which target Giant Bluefin Tuna in the Gulf of Maine. BFT are very smart, strong fish designed to travel long distances with ease. To say the least, BFT are hard to predict, understand, and most of all depend on. This is true for both the harvest as well as the management. As mentioned earlier, they fall into Highly Migratory Species bracket of our regulatory body. In essence the sustainability of the fishery is baked in. The issue you must tackle is misinformation. Did you know there are 3 species of Bluefin worldwide? And the Atlantic Bluefin is enjoying its highest biomass numbers in over a decade. Canada has massive runs of 1000lb fish, and at any given day in September, one can find catchable Bluefin from Carolina to Maine. Often the truth is harder to find, especially when there is so much misinformation provided by non profits and extremists. Our fishery in the Gulf of Maine is a success story in the history of fishery management. It's about time our public perception follow suit." Keper Connell
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"Here are some hard facts about the harvest of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna on the Domestic scale.
In addition to a scientific release on the maturity rate of ABFT by Dr Molly Lutcavage and her team at the Large Pelagic Research Lab, in Gloucester. Ironically none the boats in Wicked Tuna donate time or resources to the Lab, which is in desperate need for research funds. You would think that these boats made famous by years of conservation and independent science would give back." Keper Connell
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Download Press Release 12-15-14 Maturity of Western BFT
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I had an exchange of messages yesterday with Captain Keper Connell, a New Hampshire fisherman, on the subject of my earlier post in which I advocated an international moratorium of the fishing of Blue Fin Tuna. Having considered Captain Connell's arguments and data I freely admit that there is far more complexity to the situation than I allowed myself to be 'fed" by the TV production values of "Wicked Tuna." As I wrote to Captain Connell, I am for BOTH the fishermen and the fish species. pl
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