Do not be deluded. A brief span of fine weather does not constitute the start of summer or even of spring, for that matter. There are gusty days ahead and the fishing opportunities will be limited, but there are some positive signs as well.

For one, the water is starting to warm up. The best measure of this is the daily inshore temperature that is announced on the news casts and in the papers. While not really an accurate appraisal of the offshore situation, it does serve as a rough indicator as to which direction the temperature is moving. Over the last week or so, there has been a near continuous upward movement which is rather welcome.

Happily, the weather eased up enough this week to allow a few commercial fishermen to venture offshore and test the waters, so to speak. With just over two weeks to go in the lobster season, they will be looking to other species to provide their income.

The offshore pickings were relatively slim this week. As always, there were a few wahoo around and some tuna were sighted. There was no apparent concentration of bait but sometimes it takes a bit of concerted effort to find out just what it is the fish are up to.

In any case, we can expect things to improve fairly rapidly over the coming weeks. This weekend the 31st annual Bacardi Rum Billfish Tournament gets underway in the Bahamas, a scant 1,000 miles to our south. With fish like marlin able to cover quite a lot of water when they want to, it probably won't be too long before they show up on our doorstep. For those who like detail, blues are usually first seen here in May and by June they are pretty much abundant. Some people believe that the larger fish arrive first but the jury has to be out on that considering the granders and other large fish that have been caught in July and later. Anyone already thinking big bucks might want to start thinking about this year's 26th Annual Blue Marlin World Cup. Details can be had on line at http://www.bluemarlinworldcup.com/. It'll cost you at least three grand to play but the payout is likely getting on for half a million!

Wahoo usually start putting in an appearance by late March or early April. The so-called spring run is usually very short-lived and gets underway with little advance notice. For this reason, weekenders might want to ensure that boats and gear are ready for immediate use. It is all too easy to miss out on the entire run and have to make out with the stragglers.

An influx of small, but not quite frigate-sized, mackerel is also a good sign. The wahoo often stick around when these are up and they do make good live baits for both wahoo and medium to large yellowfin tuna. They don't come every year but given that we have missed out on the late-season frigates the last couple of years, perhaps we are overdue. Their arrival would do wonders for us.

Another major development that could have some long-term consequences for Bermuda is the European Union deciding to support a ban on the international trade in bluefin tuna. A recent report on the British BBC (www.bbc.co.uk) makes this point and states that the United States is also in favour of such a ban.

The convention that would bring such a ban into effect is the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) which already regulates trade in species like orchids, cacti, turtles and other rare animals. This international body has representatives from many countries and it will take a majority to bring about such a ban. Japan, as a major consumer nation for bluefin, would probably not be supportive of such a measure but with each member state getting a vote and the present pro-conservation climate, the measure has a fairly good chance of being approved.

Much of the rationale behind such a ban is the ICCAT (international tuna body) scientific report that puts the bluefin tuna at about 15 percent of the stock it was prior to industrialised fishing taking over. This obviously is not good for the long term commercial viability of the species. A trade restriction would not necessarily guarantee the long-term survival of the species but it might help. A CITES ban would only limit the international trade in the species so countries like Spain and Italy which regularly catch bluefin could still catch them for domestic consumption. Fish caught in international waters (believe it when it is said that there are fishing fleets pretty much wherever and whenever there are fish anywhere) also could not be exported.

So, what bearing does this have on Bermuda? Well, first off, we can and occasionally do catch bluefin tuna within our Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The species is, without a doubt, valuable. A prime specimen of bluefin recently fetched about $370 per pound at a Tokyo fish market! Certainly, the Bermuda market won't pay that sort of price but a trade ban would exclude the possibility of exporting the fish to anywhere else. The often-touted idea of establishing a commercial fishery for export products within the Bermuda EEZ would suffer the loss of a potentially lucrative market. It would also prevent the sale of any fish caught by local commercial boats (remember amateurs don't have the fishing licences that the local law requires for the sale of fish) to entities outside of Bermuda. In terms of local marketability, it doesn't rate too high. It is a rich, heavy, dark-red and preferably oily meat that isn't the first choice of the local palate.

As always, nothing is ever simple and even the European Union position seeks a deferment for bringing the trade ban into effect and would like exemptions for certain areas of the fishery. Naturally, once you start making exemptions, there are loopholes and those almost inevitably lead to abuses. Conservation groups, naturally, would want to see the ban effective immediately with no exemptions and would hope that even domestic fishing pressure on the species would be reduced in order to allow the species the best chance of recovery. As with so many things of this nature, only time will tell.

Now to end on a positive note: although the demise of the Mid-Ocean News last year threatened to change the face of the fishing tournament schedule, some welcome word has been received that the tournament will itself continue to be held for the foreseeable future although a name change will be involved. This will please the local fishing fraternity, both amateur and commercial, who have looked forward to this end of season event for many years. About the only ones who might be displeased will be the wahoo that, ultimately, provide the Tight lines!!!