It is true that overfishing has driven many tuna species including the iconic bluefin to the brink of extinction. This issue has been discussed in several occasions. The European Commission thinks reducing fleets is the answer while environmentalists say tougher quotas would do the trick. It is told that the industry wants more attention paid to reducing bycatch, the unwanted fish, sharks, turtles and other marine life caught in nets, along with young tuna.
It is told that the stocks of the bluefin are now considered depleted in the Atlantic, the Mediterranean and in great parts of the Pacific. Skipjack, bigeye and the yellow fin tuna, meanwhile, are faring better but face risk from overfishing. Mike Sutton, who runs the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California, said that bluefin tuna is just the poster child for overfishing worldwide. He added that the bottom line is that these fishing commissions have presided over the demise of the species under their authority.
Andrew Wright, whose Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission supplies nearly half of the world’s 4.5 million ton annual catch of tuna, accepts the criticism that scientific advice is sometimes not strictly adhered to. But he argues that firm assessments on capacity, vessel numbers, and fish stocks are totally reliant on member nations supplying data, which he says is often inconsistent.
