Migratory species on the move

Dock Totals 10/1 – 10/7: 3319 anglers aboard 163 half-day to 3-day trips out of San Diego landings over the past week caught 2450 bluefin tuna (up to 276 pounds), 5 bonito, 258 calico bass, 807 dorado, 4 halibut, 89 lobster (119 released), 22 perch, 1 petrale sole, 57 rock crab, 1526 rockfish, 117 sand bass, 180 sanddab, 722 sculpin, 70 sheephead, 17 skipjack tuna, 10 spider crab, 320 whitefish, 3817 yellowfin tuna, and 146 yellowtail.

Saltwater: Migrating species have always fascinated me. Our fishery here in the San Diego area relies on the annual influx of pelagic species such as yellowfin, bluefin, and skipjack tunas, yellowtail, white seabass, and dorado. True, there are always a few "homeguard" yellowtail around, and bluefin seem to have established some longevity off our shore and within reach of the fleet, but for the most part, the "glamour season" begins in late spring/early summer and runs into fall. Bluefin migratory patterns might surprise many, as they are not annual visitors that leave and return each season — not exactly, anyhow. As bluefin are endothermic and can travel through bone-chillingly cold water — and do every season, when a new batch arrives by a northern arc from the Sea of Japan to the eastern Pacific — they aren’t as driven by dropping temps to flee back to warmer water the way the semi-tropical species like yellowfin and dorado are.

Bluefin tend to hang out off the U.S. west coast and Baja for several years at a time, with a fresh batch of footballs arriving as those ready to spawn (once they fattened up to around 300 to 400 pounds) depart and head back to their spawning grounds. Not all of them migrate over, however. A good part of the stock remains near their spawning grounds and ranges from just off Japan to New Zealand. Pacific bluefin tuna are one stock, but Atlantic bluefin are split into two stocks, one prevalent on either side of the ocean. Southern bluefin, meanwhile, are of several stocks, ranging into all the open water south of the equator. What many do not realize about the bluefin we catch out of San Diego is that those 300- to 400-pound "monsters" are actually just reaching adulthood and will grow to around a thousand pounds. The world record Pacific rod-and-reel bluefin was caught off New Zealand at 907 pounds.

Despite constant monitoring and fine mesh collecting by marine biologists, there have been no findings of fry or any other evidence of Pacific bluefin spawning on this side of the Pacific. So, it seems that part of the stock comes over, feeds for five to seven years, then returns to the western Pacific. Over the past several years, bluefin have factored greatly in the counts, and are a big draw for the San Diego fleet. Still, that these fish are juveniles with the largest we catch having barely reached spawning age is hard to fathom. They are always out there, all year, but not always within reach of the fleet. When absent from the counts, they are generally further offshore on the outer banks — where albacore can still be found as they migrate through.

Roughly 20 years ago, albacore, once the mainstay of recreational and commercial operations out of San Diego, shifted their migration pattern, and are now more readily caught within 100 miles of the coast out of Oregon or Washington. We do get albacore fresh off the boat at fish markets like the Tuna Harbor Dockside Market on Saturdays, but those fish are caught between 600 and 800 miles west of San Diego. Overall, the migratory shifts point to average warming waters at our latitude, and this is why we are seeing more dorado range further north in their migrations. The vast majority, if not all, of the dorado caught in U.S. water in the eastern Pacific are very young, between four and six months, given average size. And though dorado reach spawning age by six months, they typically spawn in more tropical water at temperatures around 83 degrees, and where sargasso mats provide shelter for their fry. This means every dorado (like every bluefin) caught by the San Diego fleet north of the border is almost assuredly a pre-spawn fish. If the migration shift continues, we may see changes to the current 10-fish limit per angler per day for dorado. That said, we did have a few outstanding weeks this summer on dorado, but nothing like the "invasion" we saw in 2022.

Now we are have reached the time of year when another "invasion" begins; the annual migration of anglers heading south. As angler counts for the San Diego fleet fade in October, folks start looking south, their appetites whetted by another summer of great fishing, and begin seeking warmer climes as local temperatures cool. This is the beginning of Baja season, where, through fall until early spring, anglers can enjoy great action on the water for a relatively low price in the Sea of Cortez and Pacific fisheries of Baja California and Baja California Sur. Operations are gearing up in Baja, especially off the southern half of the peninsula, and the relatively cheap prices for lodging, fishing, and meals are still a big draw, even with a stronger peso versus the dollar compared to last year.

From the midway point of the Vizcaino Peninsula on the Pacific and Santa Rosalia on the Sea of Cortez and south, water will remain warm into late winter, even as air temperatures cool. Anglers can expect a broad range of catches, including pelagic species like tuna, dorado, yellowtail, wahoo, and billfish, as well as endemic species such as pargo, groupers, and even halibut and calico bass in the northern reaches of Baja California Sur. I spend a lot of time in Baja, and am currently in San Quintin. Here, the tuna and yellowtail are biting well, but that will slow soon; the San Quintin fishery, just 160 miles south of the border, is more in step with the San Diego fishery marine climate. Still, I see the number of southbound migratory humans increasing almost daily, with motor homes and toys in tow for another "snowbird" season in Baja. They’re out there, so go get ‘em!