FRESH Jersey-caught tuna could be on restaurant menus next year with the government in advanced discussions with the UK about having a quota to land the fish.
Environment Minister Steve Luce said that he was “very excited” about the possibility of developing a sustainable Atlantic bluefin tuna market in Jersey.
However, Jersey first needs to get permission from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in the UK, which manages quotas in all British waters.
Numbers of tuna in local waters have increased over the past decade or so as both they and the fish they forage are better managed.
The government’s Marine Resources team has conducted studies which have confirmed that a small and well-managed tuna fishery is viable.
Deputy Luce said that this would need to be run properly not only to ensure that the fish caught were handled correctly – fresh tuna can quickly spoil if not stored properly – but also so it could be marketed as a premium product, much like the Jersey Royal, Jersey milk, and locally caught lobster and farmed oysters.
The minister also warned that it would likely to be a small quota, so only a few tuna would be allowed to be caught.
Talking to the Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Scrutiny Panel yesterday, he said: “The first thing we need to do is to get a quota, or a part of a quota, from the UK; it’s not something we can be given ourselves. So, we are talking to the UK about how much quota we might have for next year, and when we know that, we will then hopefully be in a position to say this is how we’re going to use that quota.
“It would be my hope and expectation that we will have a number of boats that will come forward, and we will say to them, you are all authorised to catch a certain weight of fish.
“It won’t be very much – maybe several hundred kilos. You have to remember, these fish are quite big anyway, so we’re not going to be landing thousands of tuna. Let’s be clear about that. It will be a very small number.
He added: “On top of that, it will be incumbent upon us to make sure that we make the best of this.
“We couldn’t, for example, have a week of bad weather where nobody goes fishing, and then on a Saturday everybody goes fishing and comes back with a tuna, then dumps it on the slab and expects it to be sold within the local market.
“We’re going to need to be a bit more strategic about how we do that. There is a market here and I really look forward to being able to see Jersey tuna on the menus in local restaurants.”
Bluefin tuna, more common in the Mediterranean and Gulf of Mexico, have been seen in
huge numbers in Jersey waters in recent years and Jersey’s commercial fishing fleet have previously requested restrictions be lifted to allow them a share of the potentially lucrative market.
Deputy Luce continued: “It is really important for us to make sure that we organise the marketing so that the fishermen get a top return, the restaurants have it when they want it, and that we don’t mess it up for ourselves by flooding the market for two weeks and then nothing for a period of time, because the season is very small.
“The weather may may play a part, but I’m very excited about the possibility of doing it right. And doing it right is important – the way you catch tuna, the way they are treated on the boat once they’re caught, how they’re handled, and especially what happens to those fish when they come to shore.
“From the minute the fish is on the hook to the moment it gets on the plate, it’s really important to get the whole thing right, because tuna are a very valuable fish when treated correctly. If they’re not looked after, they very quickly turn into pet food.”
Deputy Luce added that his long-term plan was to see a processing facility built at the Harbour for Jersey-caught fish and shellfish but he doubted it would be up and running before commercial tuna fishing commenced.
This year, one Jersey charter boat has been permitted to catch and release tuna in Jersey’s territorial waters between August and this month.
Jersey is a signatory of the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna, which is committed to the conservation of the species through sustainable practices.
