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What’s fueling Whakatāne’s best yellowfin tuna season in a decade?
A tuna boom has hit this summer, lucky fishers are Paige Haddock and Phil Wright.A yellowfin tuna boom has hit eastern Bay of Plenty waters thanks to warmer seas and, potentially, the price of diesel tying up commercial fishing boats in the north Pacific.
Whakatāne Sportfishing Club manager Mark Read said the club’s weighmaster had not seen yellowfin numbers like this in the area for over 10 years.
“It’s quite a significant event.”
Whakatāne Iceman co-owner Jono Mills has noticed a huge increase in demand for salted ice to accommodate the yellowfin being caught, saying it is unusual for such demand this early in the season.
“It’s the best we’ve seen since we’ve owned [Iceman], which is seven years,” he said.
Read said there were a couple of theories for the increase in yellowfin tuna being caught with the warmer water conditions being a big part of it.
The sea temperature is about 20 degrees and climbing.
Read the full story by Heidi Bendikson – Whakatāne Beacon, Jan 01 2023, on Stuff.co.nz
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