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Overfishing to Wipe out Bluefin Tuna in 3 Years: WWF
MADRID - Overfishing will wipe out the breeding population of Atlantic bluefin tuna, one of the ocean's largest and fastest predators, in three years unless catches are dramatically reduced, conservation group WWF said on Tuesday.
A fishmonger at the market in Tunis, sells red tuna, also known as Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus thynnus) in 2007. European Union countries adopted new rules to help restore endangered bluefin tuna stocks in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, bringing the bloc into line with international standards. (AFP/File/Dominique Faget) As European fishing fleets prepare to begin the two-month Mediterranean fishing season on Wednesday, WWF said its analysis showed the bluefin tuna that spawn -- those aged four years and older -- will have disappeared by 2012 at current rates.
"For years people have been asking when the collapse of this fishery will happen, and now we have the answer," said Sergi Tudela, Head of Fisheries at WWF Mediterranean.
The fish, which can weigh over half a ton and accelerate faster than a sports car, are a favorite of sushi lovers. Demand from Japan has triggered an explosion in the size of the Mediterranean fleet over the past decade and many of those boats use illegal spotter planes to track the warm-blooded tuna.
"Mediterranean (Atlantic) bluefin tuna is collapsing as we speak and yet the fishery will kick off again tomorrow for business as usual. It is absurd and inexcusable to open a fishing season when stocks of the target species are collapsing," added Tudela.
Environmental groups condemned an agreement signed in November by states setting bluefin quotas -- a body dominated by EU members. The groups called it "a disaster" and "a disgrace," saying the states again chose to ignore their own scientists and set quotas 47 percent higher than recommended.
Illegal fishing is also rife for the bluefin, the dried, dark red meat of which once fed Roman armies on the march.
Growing numbers of restaurants and retailers including Carrefour's Italian supermarkets are boycotting it.
WWF said that analysis of official data showed the average size of mature tunas had more than halved since the 1990s and that this has had a disproportionately high impact since bigger fish produced many more offspring.
The bluefin can only be saved by a complete halt to fishing in May and June as the fish rush through the Straits of Gibraltar to spawn in the Mediterranean, WWF and other campaign groups say.
(Reporting by Ben Harding)
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20 Comments so far
Show AllThe captain of the ship ordered the taking of the last breeding pair of Auks because they were too valuble to leave. Man is inherently insane. Man will destroy everything for profit and greed. Even creating ficticious machines that go on killing even after the founding men are gone, that entity is the most lethal machine of all, the corporation.
The more scarce a species gets, the more expensive it becomes, the more pressure on the species, the faster it becomes extinct.
The human plague strikes again.
One reason I gave up eating tuna already.
ah, you just gotta love those sushi eaters. maybe when their fish du jour is gone, they'll crawl on board the eat more beef campaign, thereby doing the planet a favor.
What will we do with our excess Mercury now? At least sonar waves will have a clearer path...
Can fake tuna be made from petroleum?
And we thought only Dubya and the neofascists ignored scientific opinion.
I checked the Starkist website, and they claim to only use Skipjack, Yellowfin, and Albacore tuna, and will not accept drift net catches (kills dolphins).
Can anyone confirm this? Are these species also endangered?
There have been some attempts at bluefin tuna "ranching", but it may not be helping at all.
http://www.pbs.org/emptyoceans/fts/tuna/viewpoints.html
Demand from Japan for bluefin is huge, but don't forget the growing demand for it from other places, notably China.
"Study: Arctic Sea Ice Melting Faster Than Expected"
April 3rd, 2009.
Is there any doubt that the assessment about the 'wipe out' of
bluefin tuna follows the same rules as the assessments of the
Artic Sea Ice melting?
I would say: 'Global Harming' accelerating faster than a Blue Fin
Tuna.
There are simply too many people on good old space ship earth. 6 Billion plus will simply not be sustainable over the long haul. Complete deregulation of all limits on harvesting and human population sure works well, until the resources are completely exhausted.
I strongly disagree with the 'overpopulation-unfairy tale'.
That is as much bogus as any other government propaganda.
The truth is, that the people of the world need to root out
their governments. Nothing short of a world revolution with
the nationalization of all corporations and the immediate
widespread cultivation and industrial use of hemp will save
mankind. Overpopulation is more of a myth than global warming.
It is about how we conduct our livelyhood, not the quantity
of humans dwelling on Mother Earth.
Destroy the MICs all over the world and You will see that there
is an abundance of everything from food, clothes and shelter
to renwable and selfsustaining energy use.
Drop centralized govern-Mental abuse and oppression for a
healthy grass roots environment. Or...
Population Policy for a Depression:
http://www.npg.org/forum_series/ForumPaper_grant_popdepression_3-5-09.pdf
Don't stop eating the Tuna just to feel better about yourself (because it will only mean that the species will go extinct about ten seconds later than it otherwise would) if you're not willing to install, by any means necessary, governments that will create real pressure to stop this and other forms of environmental destruction. When you're ready to actually do something about this, then we can talk.
Anybody remember the atlantic cod on the grand banks of newfoundland?
itsjustkarma--
I agree that it's "how we live" on the planet that matters, but the fact remains that for all but the last few hundred years, human population was below a billion....and had been for millenia.
If you graphed it, in other words, you'd see a flat curve for a long time, with a sudden, exponential rise that characterizes all biological systems run wild on cheap energy.
For algae, it's phosphates. For humans, petroleum.
The balance will be restored, one way or the other, but it is most likely to be restored the hard way. Like an algal bloom, we humans are about to choke to extinction on our own waste.
Maybe we survive. Maybe not. But evolution cares not at all, one way or the other. We will just be another species that failed to adapt, and big brains, at least our version, gets eliminated.
I agree. Yet, nobody should whine in 15 years from
now about how bad things have become. We Do have the
means and the powers to stop a run amok mankind and
bring about the change the planet is demanding for
OUR sake. Earth as You say, does not shed a tear
when its worst tormenter disappears. Gaia will be
more than happy to be heaven for the roaches, as those
seem to be more capable to adjust to whatever condition
this Blue Marvel turns into.
True justice will be for all those who as of now still
don't care about all this mayhem to be reincarnated
into a future hostile environment.
This is a shame, a terrible loss for the world.
Can a foundation please freeze 100 fertilized giant bluefin tuna eggs in nitrogen? Bring them out in 10 years when all the tuna are dead and everyone has stopped looking for them, and eating the uncooked flesh of an extinct species doesn't bring $20/lb. Raise most of the new fish in captivity and release a few to see how they do.
I understand jellyfish is increasing in popularity in the chic restaurants. Then there's always soylent green.
The Europeans, and the West are Illegally fishing for, not only Tuna, but Lobsters, and Scrimp, along the shores of Somalia, plus dumping waste. The reason for Piracy, to keep them away. Somalia is a poor country, and their livly hood is being stolen, by the greedy. The main Media fails to report this.
Is overfishing a capitalist conspiracy to produce scarcity and inflate profits? No, no, capitalism never conspires, the profits just rain down on it.
I am totally discusted at the worlds response to this crisis