Tuna fishers spending big money chasing fish off northeastern P.E.I.

Tuna off P.E.I.'s North Shore have been spending time in deeper water in recent weeks, and it's been costly for the fishing crews that are seeking them.

While prices for tuna are high this year, fishers have been burning a lot of fuel chasing them.

"We were spending a god-awful amount on fuel. We went through 834 litres in two days of fishing," said Jeff MacNeill, who runs a charter business out of North Lake.

The location of tuna off northeastern P.E.I.is generally predictable year after year, but now fishers not only have to take their boats further offshore, they also have to burn fuel finding exactly where the fish have gone.

"A lot of it has to do with the temperature and our baitfish, I believe," said MacNeill.

Temperatures in the Gulf of St. Lawrence are very warm this year, he said, well over 20 C for weeks on end. Stocks of herring, a key food for the tuna as well as a baitfish for other fisheries, are already lowand changing temperatures have pushed the remaining schools of them to new areas in search of cooler water. The tuna are following.

Michael Stokesbury, a professor in the biology department at Acadia University, said this is certainly part of what is happening, but he also points to a different pattern that might be part of the explanation.

What's behind this year's big-time tuna season in P.E.I.?

30 days ago

Duration 3:01

Island bluefin tuna fishers are on track to have their best season in decades. CBC's Steve Bruce went to North Lake to find out why the quality, demand and prices are all so high this year.

Tuna in the Gulf of St. Lawrence are in fact two separate populations. The one that spawns in the Gulf of Mexico isknown as the western stock, and fish from the eastern stock spawnin the Mediterranean.

Historically, most of the tuna in the Gulf of St. Lawrence have been western stock, but the population has been shifting in recent years to include more eastern stock. Tuna from that stock tendto be smaller, which crews have also been noticing, and usually swimin deeper waters.

Climate change is affecting all the oceans and all the fish stocks. We're seeing changes in distribution of fish. Michael Stokesbury

This shiftis just part of how fish populations globally are adjusting to climate change, said Stokesbury.

"Climate change is affecting all the oceans and all the fish stocks. We're seeing changes in distribution of fish," he said.

The situation in the Gulf of St. Lawrence points to the importance of continuing to track fish, and improving information on what kinds of habitat the fish are looking for, he said. In this way, people can have their best chance to predict where the fish are going to go next.