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Source: Reuters -
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Over-fishing will wipe out the breeding population of Atlantic
Bluefin tuna, one of the ocean's largest and fastest predators, in
three years unless catches are dramatically reduced, conservation
group WWF said.
As European fishing fleets prepare to begin the two-month
Mediterranean fishing season, WWF said its analysis showed the
Bluefin tuna that spawn - those aged four years and older - will
have disappeared by 2012 at current rates.
"For years people have been asking when the collapse of this
fishery will happen, and now we have the answer," said Sergi
Tudela, Head of Fisheries at WWF Mediterranean.
The fish, which can weigh over half a tonne and accelerate faster
than a sports car, are a favourite of sushi lovers.
Demand from Japan has triggered an explosion in the size of the
Mediterranean fleet over the past decade and many of those boats
use illegal spotter planes to track the warm-blooded tuna.
"Mediterranean (Atlantic) Bluefin tuna is collapsing as we speak
and yet the fishery will kick off again tomorrow for business as
usual. It is absurd and inexcusable to open a fishing season when
stocks of the target species are collapsing," added Tudela.
Environmental groups condemned an agreement signed in November by
states setting Bluefin quotas - a body dominated by EU members.
The groups called it a disaster and a disgrace, saying the
states again chose to ignore their own scientists and set quotas
47% higher than recommended.
Illegal fishing is also rife for the Bluefin, the dried, dark red
meat of which once fed Roman armies on the march.
Growing numbers of restaurants and retailers including Carrefour's
Italian supermarkets are boycotting it.
WWF said that analysis of official data showed the average size of
mature tunas had more than halved since the 1990s and that this has
had a disproportionately high impact since bigger fish produced
many more offspring.
The Bluefin can only be saved by a complete halt to fishing in May
and June as the fish rush through the Straits of Gibraltar to spawn
in the Mediterranean, WWF and other campaign groups say.
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