Taiwan's bluefin tuna fishing season ends with 11,500 fish caught

台灣黑鮪魚季結束，共捕獲11,500條魚

Fishing boats ordered to return to harbor as announced quota for bluefin tuna is exceeded


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Taiwan Fisheries Agency announced the end of bluefin tuna fishing this year, ordering a complete stop on Sunday at 6 p.m.

The annual season runs from April to June, coinciding with the annual migration of Pacific bluefin tuna. The season is governed by the annual catch quota assigned to Taiwan by international fishery authorities, per Liberty Times.

Preliminary data indicates 11,500 bluefin tuna were caught nationwide, with a total weight of more than 2,300 tonnes, slightly exceeding the officially announced quota of 2,200 tonnes. However, errors in reporting often occur at sea, and the removal of gills could allow Taiwan to still come in under the announced quota.

This year, new regulations were implemented for catch management, with boats ordered to take fewer tuna depending on the proportion of the annual quota that had been met. For example, at the start of the season, boats could take eight tuna, though the amount would be halved as total catch neared 90% of the quota.

This new system has led the number of tuna entering ports to slow in the past few weeks. In 2023, Taiwan exceeded the quota, though it was able to carry over unused quota from previous years.

As of Saturday, 6,100 tuna arrived in Pingtung's Donggang, weighing about 1,100 tonnes. Meanwhile, 2,600 tuna were brought into Yilan's Suao, weighing nearly 500 tonnes, and 300 tuna landed at Taitung's Xingang, weighing 50 tonnes.

This year, more stringent quota control led market prices to remain steady throughout the season and did not collapse during peak catch. Stricter catch requirements have also led the average weight of bluefin tuna caught this year to remain above 200 kg.

The Donggang District Fishermen's Association said this year's largest bluefin tuna weighed 375 kg. The association said it expects 500 bluefin tuna to arrive at the harbor in the next few days.