Case Study: The Great Bluefin Tuna
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The grey body streaks through the water and one captures a glimpse of a yellow dorsal fin, and, if they’re lucky, blue side stripes. The massive creature darts back and forth, piercing the surface of the ocean. Its power and agility are unlike any other, and its sides of steel glide through the water with ease. This is the Giant Bluefin Tuna; one of the largest and most impressive fish on the planet.
The bluefin tuna separate into
two reproductively and
geographically independent
spawning stocks. The Western
stock resides in the Gulf of Mexico, and its spawning season is May 1st to June 7th. The Eastern Stock spawns in
June, primarily in the Mediterranean Sea. Its normal migration pattern stretches from the East Coast of America out into the Mid-Atlantic, and up the coast of Iceland in the Atlantic, respectively. Unfortunately, sightings of this magnificent creature have become increasingly rarer over the past few decades, as they have been overfished at rapid rates.
Because of its unique and fat-filled white belly, the rich meat of this tuna is greatly desired for sushi and other delicacies. Fisheries will travel out to sea during breeding season to capture eggs in order to farm-raise the fish. Often times in spring and summer the bluefin tuna will travel in large packs at the surface of the ocean, making them an easy target for fishermen. The hunt of the bluefin tuna began in the 1960’s, and was originally dominated by Japanese fishermen. For the first two decades, the fish were
slaughtered primarily from the practice of Japanese longline fishing. Now, with the demand stretching from Asia all the way to the Americas, the bluefin are usually captured in ocean cages and fattened up at unhealthy rates, before being killed for their meat.
In addition to the direct catch of the bluefin tuna, these fish are also dying in response to the increased fishing of their prey, including fish such as herring, whiting and menhaden. Due to this growing industry, this species been reduced to 3% of its 1960 population.
Despite efforts in 2010 from the Center for Marine Biology to try to declare the tuna a “threatened” or “endangered” species, no practice has changed. Fighting this battle will be a challenging one, because the profits from the meat are incredibly high: 200 bluefin tuna can easily be sold for half a million dollars.
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Quick Fatcs:
- Up to 12 feet long.
- Up to 1,500 lbs.
- Can live up to 30 years.
“Giant bluefin have more power and stamina than anything else," says expert fisherman, Jack Cashman.