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https://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20241210-saving-bluefin-tuna-the-sushi-delicacy-threatened-by-climate-change>
'$3.1m. That is the staggering amount (£2.5m) a sushi tycoon paid for a bluefin
tuna at an auction in Tokyo in 2019. The 278kg (612lbs) tuna – the same weight
as a grizzly bear – was the most expensive fish ever sold.
Tuna is the most commercially valuable family of fish in the entire world and
bluefin, typically used in sushi and sashimi, is the most expensive, says Sarah
Glaser, senior director of the oceans futures team at the World Wide Fund for
Nature (WWF) US. A single bluefin fetches more than a tonne of skipjack, the
smallest and most abundant tuna species. This high value has led to
overfishing, with huge global demand for sushi severely depleting bluefin
stocks, pushing the species to the brink of extinction in 2010.
But in recent years, bluefin tuna populations have experienced an incredible
rebound after countries introduced more sustainable fishing quotas and cracked
down on illegal fishing.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) downgraded Atlantic
bluefin tuna from "endangered" to "least concern" in 2021. Meanwhile, Pacific
bluefin has rebounded to new highs, exceeding international targets a decade
ahead of schedule. Southern bluefin tuna remains endangered but is no longer
"critically endangered" on the IUCN red list.
"It's a big success story. We managed to reverse this trend of overfishing and
near stock collapse in less than 20 years," says Alessandro Buzzi, WWF's
fisheries project manager who specialises in tuna fishing. "We are now in a
situation where overfishing is not a threat anymore."
But bluefin tuna now face another major challenge: climate change. Studies show
that bluefin tuna are highly sensitive to temperature changes, with small
increases affecting their metabolism, breeding and feeding habits. Scientists
warn that these changes to bluefin tuna could in turn impact other marine
wildlife as well as fishing communities.'
Via
Positive.News
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
