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Electronic tagging programme 

Figure 1. A pop-up satellite archival tag recovered during tagging operations off northwest Ireland in 2016.

We are tracking bluefin tuna movements from UK waters using both pop-up satellite archival tags and acoustic tags. Pop-up satellite archivel tags (PATs; Figure 1), are mounted externally and record ambient light, temperature and depth continuously every 15 seconds for up to a year. On a set date, the PAT tag detaches from the tuna and floats to the sea surface, it then begins to transmit a summary of the data to a satellite network. These tags are as small and light as current technology allows. Despite being only 20 cm long, they can collect data for up to one year, and transmit these data to satellites, but they store much more data on board that are very valuable if the tag can be physically recovered. We would therefore like to hear from anyone who may find these tags once they have detached from the tuna and washed ashore.

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THUNNUS UK is deploying up to 30 acoustic tracking tags (Figure 2; left) on bluefin tuna as part of the larger project, which will interface with a network of acoustic receiving stations (Figure 3) across Europe.

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Figure 3. An acoustic receiving station ready for deployment at the seabed.

Figure 2. A Thelma HP-16 acoustic tag (left) and a pop-up archival satellite tag (MiniPAT, right). Grid shows 1 cm sq.

THUNNUS UK

THUNNUS UK is a collaborative research project between the University of Exeter, the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) and the Tuna Research and Conservation Centre of Stanford University, USA and aims to provide a robust understanding of the ecology of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) in waters of the British Isles. The project is supported by EU Interreg IV (FISH-INTEL), the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra), Welsh Government and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF).

CONTACT

E: bluefin@exeter.ac.uk

      @thunnusuk

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