CCMAR monitoring detected bluefin tuna measuring almost three meters

The monitoring network of researchers from the University of Algarve's Marine Sciences Center (CCMAR-Algarve) detected a bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) measuring almost 3 meters in the Sesimbra area, next to the Arrábida mountain range, called the Luiz Saldanha marine reserve. This is an unusual size for this species in Portuguese waters.

This monitoring network records the passage of tagged animals along the Portuguese coast, from Sesimbra to Vila Real de Santo António. The data is recorded when the animal passes within range of the underwater receivers, but can only be accessed when the devices are physically collected, which happens twice a year. This tuna, in particular, was tagged by a team of researchers from Stanford University (USA) in September 2018, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, east of Canada, and frequented the waters of the Luiz Saldanha Marine Reserve in early August last year, where it spent almost a week.

This species lives in the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, moving in shoals and making large migrations for feeding and reproduction, and this record of its passage through Sesimbra, alongside records from other monitoring networks of this type, is important for the study and monitoring of these migrations.

The records made by monitoring networks relating to various species contribute to global knowledge of the seas and the sharing of information between experts from various global institutions.

CCMAR-Algarve, which appears in the most recent Atlas of FCT R&D Units , directs its research towards the study of marine ecosystems and the impact that climate change has on them, as well as towards discovering ways to manage and use marine resources in a sustainable way.