UMaine to Receive More Than $220K From NOAA to Study Tuna

ORONO, Maine - The University of Maine is slated to receive more than $220,000 from the federal government to support research of Atlantic bluefin tuna.
 
Republican Sen. Susan Collins and independent Sen. Angus King say the money from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will help with UMaine's research about the tuna's age, growth and population in the northwest Atlantic Ocean.
 
UMaine researchers will work with dealers, fishermen and other stakeholders from Maine to North Carolina on the work. The university hopes the work will help improve understanding of the Atlantic bluefin stock.
 
New England fishermen caught more than 1.5 million pounds of Atlantic bluefin in 2015. The fish was also brought to shore elsewhere along the East Coast.
 
The International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies the fish as endangered.