Morocco Trap Tagging

Divers pick out individual fish to be tagged from the holding pen at the end of the trap system.

Divers guide a bluefin tuna into the supersized sling.

A bluefin tuna is lifted out of the holding pen by crane.

The bluefin being measured.

Scientist Noureddine Abid from INRH puts a piece of bluefin DNA into a vial.

TAG Scientists Robbie Schallert, Pablo Cermeno, and Barbara Block. traveled to Morocco in May to work with scientists from the Moroccan National Institute of Fisheries Research (INRH) and the tuna trap "Es-Sahel" (Larache, Morocco), owned by Société Maromadraba. The objective was to gain more insight into the migratory patterns of large bluefin tuna in the North Atlantic. These particular fish arrive annually in the Spring on their way to spawn inside the Mediterranean. And the traps, as described by Dr. George Shillinger (Moroccan Traps), catch some of the bluefin on their journey...this provides scientists with a fantastic opportunity to tag and release many "giants" quickly and easily. This is the third year our TAG team has been to the traps as part of our our collaborative work with ICCAT and WWF to place Wildlife Computers' mini-PAT tags on the 300-500 lb fish.

Dr. Block carefully inserts a satellite tag before the fish is released outside of the trap.