With the bulk of the holiday fuss behind us we now have the New Year to look forward to, and that will doubtless bring about a surfeit of revelry.

However, before surging forth into that great unknown there needs to be a quick review of the year that has sped past.

For many fishermen and anglers, it is a year best forgotten as it was noteworthy for being poor. At the start of 2015 many were saying that they looked forward to 2015 after the worst fishing year that they could remember. Here, 12 months on, those same people are appalled that 2015 was actually worse for most.

Just to provide a rough idea of how the last few years compared, the outcomes of the Bermuda Triple Crown Tournaments for 2013, 2014, and 2015 were used.

Although the number of teams participating in each event varied fairly widely over the time period, dividing the number of teams into each tournament’s catch provides a valid measure of catch per unit effort.

A broad comparison may be had by averaging the three tournaments for each year together. In 2013, this was 1.63; markedly higher than the 1.21 recorded for both 2014 and 2015. Not surprisingly, this shows a downturn in catches, presumably reflective of there simply being less fish available. This is consistent with the memories that most skippers recall when asked how the fishing compared over the last few years.

Things get a bit more sordid when the billfish are separated into white and blue marlin.

A real flurry of white marlin in 2014 helped bring the average up. Perhaps most remarkable in 2014 the number of whites caught in the Bermuda Blast were just one shy of the number of blue marlin caught, 33 against 34.

Now, it is accepted that not everyone goes in pursuit of billfish. In fact, many anglers and virtually all commercial fishermen shy away from a large fish that has no real market value and which can take some time to bring to boat side for release.

Looking at the species that are of interest to such people paints no happier picture. Both wahoo and tuna catches were poor, at best. There were a few high points with some really large specimens of both species being caught but certainly the numbers of yellowfin and wahoo were nothing to write home about. A few skippers enjoyed occasional good days, but those were all the more noteworthy because they were exceptional events among the mediocre.

Once again the so-called “frigate mackerel” failed to show up in any numbers and, possibly as a cause, the schools of wahoo that make for the autumnal run also were conspicuous by their absence.

Even the robins were thin on the ground. Many hours were spent on many days by many fishermen just trying to get some live baits that might prove more enticing to the few predators that were lurking around the drop-offs.

Perhaps linked to this was a distinct lack of other game fish that were frequently the target of commercial operators.

Amberjack and bonito, which had had bumper years in the recent past, were fewer and further between. Of course, if the robins were in short supply, for whatever reason, then it would have an impact on these deeper reef species.

But why was everything so scarce and generally unco-operative? Scientists especially always want answers but so do the fishermen and even the landlubbers.

In terms of a plausible explanation, there is not anything that readily comes to anyone’s mind. The usual “overfishing” and “bad tides” do not really account for such drastic changes in pattern and certainly doesn’t explain a failure across several species.

That leaves the infamous “El Nino”. This phenomenon that is really not fully understood is, extremely simply put, the warming of the ocean along the Pacific coast of South America.

This is linked to an oscillation or movements of water currents and weather in the Pacific, but also has an impact on something called the North Atlantic Oscillation, which is in our part of the world.

Hurricane predictors use this sort of data in their prognostications with some accuracy, and so it is probably fair to say that what goes on some 10,000 miles away may well affect fisheries here in our region.

What those effects might be, and how they work, is a whole other picture, but it is probably not outrageous to link some of the blame for the last couple of years to the development of a phenomenon out in the Pacific.

Those who are curious and do a little exploring on the internet, will find that there is an opposite effect that also occurs on occasion. This affects things very differently and may somehow be linked to improving conditions in this part of the world.

If so, let’s hope one happens soon because we really could do with a Happy New Year and some more Tight Lines!