Report shows drastic tuna overfishing

Scientists have released a new stock assessment report for Pacific bluefin tuna showing devastating effects of overfishing on the species in the northern Pacific Ocean.

The report, released by the Pew Environmental Group, comes from the International Scientific Committee, a group formed by the American and Japanese governments to study tuna and related species in the northern Pacific Ocean.

According to the report, populations of Pacific bluefin tuna have fallen 96.4 percent from unfished levels. The report blames “decades of overfishing” for the losses, according to a release from Pew.

“This new data show that the population of Pacific bluefin is a small fraction of what it used to be, and is in danger of all but disappearing,” said Amanda Nickson, who directs global tuna conservation at Pew.

The release comes on the heels of a fish auction in Tokyo where a buyer purchased a single Pacific bluefin tuna for USD 1.76 million (EUR 1.35 million). The purchase, widely regarded as an expensive publicity stunt, marks the beginning of the 2013 bluefin tuna auction season. Pew has publicly condemned such actions in the past, and is calling again for nations to support stricter catch limits, or even the suspension of fishing altogether.

“The Pew Environment Group believes the most responsible course of action is to immediately suspend the fishery until significant steps are taken to reverse this decline,” Nickson said. “This highly valuable fish is being exploited at almost every stage of its life cycle, and more than 90 percent of Pacific bluefin caught are juveniles, taken before they have even reproduced. Further, fishing continues on the spawning grounds of this heavily overfished tuna species.”

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