No Tuna Yes Cry
No Tuna Yes Cry
Hey there fisherman, don’t throw in your gear
No Tuna Yes Cry
Said I remember when Fishy used to swim
In every part of every ocean
Ransom Myers studied large fish
Showed us all declining populations
Good fish we had Good fish we lost
Now will they be going away?
In this bright future we can’t forget our past
So stow your gear away and
Not Everything is going to be all right
Fish are smaller each and every night
Not Everything is going to be all right
Fish are smaller each and every night
Not Everything is going to be all right so
No Tuna Yes Cry
No Tuna Yes Cry
Hey there fisherman, don’t throw in your gear
No Tuna Yes Cry
Said I remember when Fishy used to swim
In every part of every ocean
And we would mingle with the good fishermen we meet
Show them data to make it right
Don’t harvest too much, just enough
Sustainability is the key
Because we got to push on through
And change the laws so we can have fish and chip tonight
NOT offered as refutation-by-anecdote of scientific studies of tuna populations–ie, in Midwestern: I’m just sayin’
but
fishing for bluefin tuna in Cape Cod Bay and the Provincetown area and Stellwagen Bank is nuts this summer. Fish came earlier in very large numbers. Tuna are also very dense in Vineyard Sound out of Chatham or Nauset. Sport captains are reporting more fish than in recent memory, with many of the fish too big to be landed with standard light-tackle gear–typically that would mean that the fish are over 100 pounds more than in the past, with lots of larger fish still.
We’re talking about inshore vessels, day anglers in small boats who target these fish in addition to their usual quarry of striped bass and bluefish. They find fish by visual sign typically and target them when they show in surface feeding activity (or by finding bird or whale activity) or occasionally by charting fish with the unsophisticated fish-finding sonar (relative to the electronics used by comm fishermen.) They abide by tight sportfishing rules (I think they’re permitted one fish taken per day; they often tag and release tuna too.) Some of the captains have permits to take and sell larger fish, but I don’t know the details.
Also, the light-tackle tuna anglers are a recent wave. Their observations and success may be a result of impoving their own ability to find and catch fish (striped bass and bluefish anglers seldom had occasion to venture into the tuna zone, except for cod fishermen who tended to focus on deeper water in spring, fall, and winter. So they may just be seeing what was there before, and their observations on size and numbers of fish may be suspect for that reason.
Also, the composition and density of bait species seems to be different this year, which may account for the difference. Captains report fewer larger finfish bait schools–menhaden (pogies) or herring–and unprecedented density of very large sand eels (sand lance)–so the tunas may have shifted their focus to this forage (and the larger tunas of course eat the blues and stripers who eat the sand eels). Whales have also been very common and close to shore this year, perhaps same reason.
But–still–I follow this fishery closely and it seems that the size and numbers of tunas are up in the vicinity.
see Flyfishsaltwaters.com or reel-time.com if you want more anecdotes.
ice
I love this song! It makes me think how we (people) tend to abuse the natural resources found in seas. This song is of great significance in enlightening those people who are into poaching of sea animals.
We really got to stop this act before it’s too late.
Great song!
Although here in California we’re singing “No Salmon, yes Cry”…
Oh how I miss that King Salmon, but what has to be done, has to be done. This years population in the Delta (where most Salmon in California Spawn) was a ridiculously low number, so, no commercial fishing in the state.
No Tuna, Yes Cry… Best Ditty Yet.
Kevin you just scored a hit with my family, took one of our favorite bath time songs and warped it perfectly (especially considering I spent last summer and fall working on Tuna Ranching issues…)