Bluefin Tuna Nearly Gone From Med As Catches Collapse - AFP

[hatrack]

Stocks of bluefin tuna are disappearing from the Mediterranean, the environmental group WWF warned Tuesday. "There is almost no more bluefin tuna to be fished in some of the oldest fishing grounds, especially in West Mediterranean," the group said in a statement in which it called on the European Union to ban commercial fishing during the breeding season.

The problem is particularly acute around Spain's Balearic Islands, where catches of bluefin are down to only 15 percent of levels a decade ago, the group said. In 1995 some 14,699 tonnes were caught there, mainly by French and Spanish fleets - while just 2,270 tonnes have been fished in the same waters this year.

Mediterranean bluefin tuna farms have also experienced substantial decline. From this year's catches of wild Mediterranean tuna, some 22,520 tonnes have been put in captivity and farmed, a 25 percent reduction on last year.

Six Spanish tuna ranches have already ceased operating altogether "because there were simply no more tuna".

EDIT

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Risk_Of_Bluefin_Tuna_Disappearing_From_Mediterranean_999.html

[Hell Hath No Fury]

1. When I watch commercials for things like...

Red Lobster, I can only think of the amount of fish/shellfish one restaurant goes through in a day, then I think about how many Red Lobsters there are across the country. Then I think about all the other restaurants serving fish/seafood around just the US, and then the households that make it for dinner, and then I think about all the countries aruond the world where fish is a staple in their diet.

And then I wonder how there is a single fish/shell fish left in the ocean.

It is fucking crazy.

I hope that one day we get a fucking clue as a species and take care of this problem before we kill the ocean's creaturesoff once and for all. :(

It's news like this that makes me glad I don't contribute to that problem.

[jpak]

2. The sushi craze is partly responsible for this too...

Bluefin tuna stocks are endangered throughout the Atlantic Basin.

[soothsayer]

5. What's that thing about the sushi fleets being owned by rev moon?

wild

[bananas]

3. seafoodwatch.org

List of seafood to eat or avoid, for your health and the health of the oceans.
From the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
www.seafoodwatch.org

[girl gone mad]

4. Thanks for the link.

I learned that the Alaskan salmon I buy for my family is the best kind to get.

They say this about bluefin tuna:

Avoid bluefin tuna—they're severely overfished and fishing gear used to catch them entangle sea turtles, seabirds and sharks and endanger their populations.

Bluefin tuna provide the world’s most valuable sushi and the high demand for this fish has taken its toll. The Atlantic population has declined by nearly 90% since the 1970s. Bluefin are slow to mature and, unfortunately, many young fishes are caught before they have the chance to reproduce.

Fishermen use a variety of methods to catch bluefin tuna, including longlines and purse seines. Even when they’re “dolphin-safe,” purse seines catch tons of unwanted fishes and other animals, called bycatch. Longlines entangle and kill sea turtles and other marine life.