Good Prospects For Tuna Seen

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30998, 2 March 1966, Page 13

Good Prospects For Tuna Seen

(New Zealand Press Association)

GISBORNE, February 28.

The opinion that there are good prospects for tuna fishing and the development of deepsea game fishing for marlin in the GisborneEast Coast waters was expressed by Mr D. York, of the Fisheries Division, Marine Department, today.

The project, which began last week, is a joint venture between the Fisheries Division and the Fishing Industry Board, and its purpose is to establish the economic possibility of gill-netting and trolling for tuna from small boats in the Gisborne area. Mr York said that there must have been thousands of tons of tuna around last week for three boats to get 45921 b in one day. “All tuna were caught on lines with lures. We are here

to do gill netting, but this method is ineffective until we strike them in real concentration.

“This is also an hydrological project as we are taking water temperatures and readings of the water salinity which are important as regards tuna fishing. “We have a portable salinometer on board which gives us the salinity, the surface temperatures and temperatures to 400 ft. “The surface temperatures we recorded recently was 19.8 degrees centigrade with a salinity of 20.15. This is a little high as the ideal reading would be between 18.7 degrees and 19.8 degrees centigrade. “The larger albacore like an oceanic general salinity pattern which is about 34.7 parts per thousand.”

“In the last week or so the tuna have moved south from just off East Cape into cooler water in salinity pockets.”