Nippon Suisan Gakkaishi 65 (6), 1078-1083 (1999)

The Migration of Bullet Tuna Auxis rochei on the Pacific Coast of Japan, estimated from Tagging Experiments

Yoshio Niiya*1

Tagging and recapture experiments of Bullet Tuna were carried out in the eastern and central coastal waters of Japan from 1970 to 1994 for the investigation of it's migration pattern. A total of 12,925 fish were tagged and released in the waters between the Kyushu coast and the Izu Islands. Main recaptures of 129 fish were reported off Kouchi. Recaptures of 61 fish were obtained from the Kyushu coast, the Kii Channel, Kumanonada, Suruga Bay, Tokyo Bay, the Boso Peninsula and Kasimanada. Bullet Tuna stay south of Shionomisaki from the winter to the spring. They migrate north of the Boso Peninsula with the rise of the water temperature in the summer. They migrate south of Shionomisaki with the lowering of the water temperature in the fall. The migration estimated from the tagging experiments agreed with the report of the migration estimated from the change in fishery and the length frequency distribution.


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