Canada 2016 Day 2

Bluefin tuna on the sounder!

Tagged fish being released

Dr. Steve Wilson showing his love for the fish

Robbie Schallert and Steve Wilson measure a bluefin tuna

The day started out windy, but by noon the sea had calmed down so the TAG team headed to the docks. We first jigged some live mackerel then joined 4 other boats just off Mabou Harbor. At first it looked like it was going to be a slow day, but around 3 pm the ocean erupted with tuna of all sizes. It didn't take long before the Bay Queen hooked up!

Canada 2016

The TAG season has begun in Port Hood, Nova Scotia. The team arrived to beautiful summer weather...Lloyd MacInnes even wore shorts on the boat...a first for Canada bluefin tagging.

Llyod MacInnes fights the first fish of the season

This is our 9th season in Canada tagging giant tuna and the 20th anniversary for the TAG program. We came a little earlier this season to advantage of the weather and ask new questions about how these fish migrate and utilize the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

There are many places to look for tuna between Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island...the hole, the feathers, the shark fin, the bat and the ball, the bank, the red barn, the mines, etc. etc...and at the start of the fishing season we have to look around a bit to see where the fish are aggregating. The commercial season has begun and Captain Dennis has been fishing these waters for over 30 years, so we have a hint as to where to look.

After a couple hours the Bay Queen IV was hooked into her first bluefin of the tagging season. It was a nice round 500 pounder that got a Wildlife Computer satellite tag and a Vemco acoustic tag. The 2016 tagging season has started with a bang!

Dr. Aaron Carlisle releases  a tagged bluefin