The Spanish tuna fleet is launching project SelecTuna, a pioneering initiative will deploy more than 1500 smart buoys from tech company Satlink in the three oceans where tropical tuna is caught, with the aim of increasing fishing selectivity. The aim is to focus on the strongest sustainable stocks, steering fishing effort away from more vulnerable stocks.
Under this collaboration agreement between the Organization of Associated Producers of Large-scale Freezer Tuna Vessels (OPAGAC) and Satlink, embedded within the activities and initiatives of OPAGAC’s 2024 Production and Commercialization Plan, the aim is to enhance innovation and improve technology to fine-tune discrimination between tropical tuna species.
The selective smart buoy, developed by Satlink, features a unique dual echo-sounder and acoustic technology system, that enables it to differentiate between skipjack tuna, and yellowfin or bigeye tuna. Project SelecTuna is expected to be key in improving the identification of yellowfin and bigeye tuna, due to enhanced algorithms, contrasted with intensive sampling.
‘The commitment to improving our fishery, the origins of which date back to the 1960s, has sought to have the most cutting-edge mechanisms available to optimize and control our activity and ensure that our catches result from transparent, sustainable and responsible fishing. This project is a step further in the same direction, integrating the most advanced solutions for the sustainability of our fishing activity,’ said OPAGAC managing director Julio Morón.
SelecTuna is expected to provide Satlink with opportunities to enhance its technology for discriminating between tropical tuna species by collecting and analysing echosounder estimates obtained from the buoys and the data reported by the fleet, as well as analysing this against oceanographic and operational conditions of each region. The data collected will also allow Satlink to investigate further potential technological developments.
‘It is a pleasure to once again collaborate with the Spanish fleet, a world leader in the application of new technologies in the fishing sector to ensure ethical and sustainable practices in regard to resources, the ecosystem and its workers. SelecTuna is a perfect example of our commitment to developing technology solutions that contribute to the sustainability of the oceans and fisheries management, by promoting resource protection, improving scientific knowledge, and optimising fleet operations,’ said Satlink president Faustino Velasco, commenting that SelecTuna will increase knowledge about the biology, behavior, and distribution of tropical tuna populations, as well as provide reliable and quality data for the development of abundance indices produced by different scientific institutions, and implemented by RFMOs to foster data-driven decision-making.
