Bluefin breeding population may disappear by 2012: WWF analysis

Wednesday 15th April, 04:18 AM JST

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sf2k at 01:32 PM JST - 15th April

any demand shifted from one to the other, given overfishing itself, would just decimate that fish stock as well. Actually, shut downs are the only real solution should we wish to see them again.

Our cod never recovered in Canada after a moritorium in the 90's due to overfishing. To say as well that tuna will just bounce back is not evident either. If you remove the underlying foodchain that supports the fish then they can't return.

People will wait until they are forced to stop and by then it will be too late. Sad, but that's the way it's going. There are lessons out there to learn from, but no one is looking.
Den Den at 01:57 PM JST - 15th April

Dead as a dodo. We are greedy, ate too much. I hope buri ie OK, I prefer it to tuna.
Nessie at 03:13 PM JST - 15th April

will be wiped out completely in three years if fisheries managers and decision-makers keep ignoring the warnings from scientists that fishing must stop

"Completely"? Down to the last fish? I'd be willing to be my entire net worth that this won't happen.

See you in 2012.
Yelnats at 03:24 PM JST - 15th April

I am going to fill up on Otoro this weekend for sure. It is favorite part of the fish.
dennis0bauer at 03:48 PM JST - 15th April

Japan give up their Tuna? no way! but after an international ban is instegated, i am sure that Japan will have a Fleet of scientific vessels to investigate the Tuna breeding cycle
Brunobear at 06:09 PM JST - 15th April

Japan for over a decade heavily overtook its legal Bluefin Tuna catch until it was caught out. Yes it is good that a Japanese University and a South Australian fishing company have developed a system of harvesting eggs from farmed tuna. Necessity being the mother of all invention. I have seen over fishing of what seemed endless numbers if fish in various places of the world, that never recovered. Perhaps the Japanese may have to get to like beef, lamb and chicken more - high protein food that can be readily farmed economically in massive amounts for the Japanese market in Australia. A bell that chimes thirteen times, discredits the first chime and every chime that follows. Does Japan's scientific whaling harvest spring to mind. The dishonesty in all this is staggering.
bushlover at 07:54 PM JST - 15th April

sf2k if Canada wants to help the cod recover they might want to control the seal populations. I'm not sure what natural predators the tuna have besides humans and I don't think a cull in humans is reasonable so we could police fishermen at ports and inspect catches with stiff fines and loss of licenses for those in violation of strict quotas.
usaexpat at 11:54 PM JST - 15th April

I agree with others who've stated that fish farming is the future. It's almost impossible to get some species wild caught these days. That said a true committment to limiting runoff and other water pollution is a necessary step for farming to work.
sf2k at 12:10 AM JST - 16th April

@bushlover: well, people might get all upset over the seal hunt. At least it's in Canadian and we're not visiting Antarctica for "our traditional" seal hunt nonsense. Anyway my impression is that seals are not the factor holding back the fish. Since the fact is that spawing grounds were damaged by overfishing, the fish simply were forced away. This is why I expect the same to happen to the bluefin tuna and most fish species.

The other date is 2048 where we will have vacuumed 90% of all fish out of the oceans. Google can be scary sometimes. Sweet.

@usaexpat: PCB's in fish farmed salmon are a selling point for wild salmon. It may come down to our only option rather than a choice though. Too many fish in one location however leads to natural disease so there is also a limit to the number of farms. Unless we make them unnatural and use chemicals again! I think we humans are just morons.

I'm going to guess that the number of farms possible will not meet demand (because the world loves irony) thus we'll have to diversify our protein between land and sea as a matter of necessity.

It would be helpful if we didn't have such a large population. With a food shortage that will go down and only then the fish stocks will rise again.
BMaas at 02:18 AM JST - 16th April

Asian Countries do the world a favor and just leave! Japan year after year abuses bluefin tuna qoutas, causing a collapse and eventually leading to the breeding population extinction. They refuse to stop whaling even though the whole civalized world is against it, just so they can keep there "heritage"! What a crock! China fuels the illegal game market, causing tigers, elephants, rhino's and many other animals to be slaughtered, just so they can feel better about there manhood. China fuels a market which is going to lead to the extinction of sharks in our oceans. Korea is refusing to stop testing nuclear arms, and is shooting long range missles over other countries... I mean really, just do us all a favor and LEAVE!!!!!
ca1ic0cat at 02:46 AM JST - 16th April

Now if an independent university would back this up I would be more inclined to believe it. I never trust statistics put forward by an organization with an axe to grind.

At the same time I have stopped eating shark and swordfish. Guess I might have to add tuna to that list.
OssanAmerica at 04:26 AM JST - 16th April

I see we're out in full force attacking the "Japanese" for eating all the world's tuna. Problem is that unlike the whaling issue, we are all guilty of it since everyone from Moscow to London to New York to Hongkong are all eating Tuna. The article which makes speficic mention of the pressured Mediterranean Tuna doesn't even bother to go into the fact that it's the local fishermen of the Mediterranean countries that are harvesting the Tuna for sale to Japan. Rather than running around like an eco-chicken with it's head cut off I think that we should consider the reality; that Tuna stocks will decline, therefore the price of Tuna will go up. Demand will decrease as the price goes up therefore less Tuna will be harvested.
OssanAmerica at 04:28 AM JST - 16th April

For all those who don't seem to get it, whaling has nothing to do with the tuna fishery. That is of course unless one is willing to accept that whales, like Tuna are a natural marine resource which requires conservation measures to ensure sustainable catches.
sf2k at 09:54 AM JST - 16th April

yes it does. It's the same mindset bent on fishing at all costs, even if it means extintion.
sf2k at 10:52 AM JST - 16th April

OssanAmerica:

Problem is that unlike the whaling issue, we are all guilty of it since everyone from Moscow to London to New York to Hongkong are all eating Tuna.

Nice to see you feel Japan is guilty on the whaling issue. I was getting discouraged.