James Gaudet, of Tignish Run in western P.E.I., is one of 360 licensed tuna fishermen on the Island, fearing this could be the last season of tuna fishery. Although it was a good year off the North Shore, with all of the quota caught in just a few weeks of fishing. Gaudet said that this season there was abundant tuna up splashing in the water. But the thing is not same everywhere along the Atlantic coast. New England fishermen failed to catch their quota this year. The fish are smaller, down from more than 500 kilograms 15 years ago to 350 kilograms. Off the U.S. coast, the fish are averaging under 200 kilograms.
As per a scientific survey the number of fish spawning on this side of the Atlantic down 75 percent. Gaudet told that it is very unfortunate but it could very well be true because in the U.S., most of the fish that are caught there are smaller range. Delegates from the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans are preparing for an emergency meeting about the tuna fishery in Morocco this month.
According to conservationists there should be a five-year ban on fishing to help the stock recover. Gaudet figures if that happens, the world’s tuna fishery will never re-open.
