Bluefin-tuna population in danger of extinction

Bluefin-tuna population in danger of extinction

SYDNEY, Australia (AP): The population of southern bluefin tuna, prized as sashimi in Japan, is at risk of commercial extinction if fishing continues at the current high level, a conservation group study said yesterday.

An increasing unregulated catch by Taiwan, Indonesia and South Korea is taking a heavy toll on the tuna population, the report's author said.

The Review of the Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery: Implications for Ecologically Sustainable Management study found the number of mature southern bluefin tuna was believed to be at the lowest level ever recorded.

Undertaken by Traffic Oceania, the wildlife trade monitoring program for non-government conservation group World Wide Fund for Nature, the report said the fish population throughout the southern oceans had plummeted to well below the biologically safe level.

Traffic Oceania senior research officer Glenn Sant said the current tuna population was now less than 9 percent of that recorded in 1960.

"Given the serious implications that a collapse in stock would have on the species, ecosystem and fishing industry we need to adopt a precautionary (catch) approach," Sant said.

He said the total annual catch of the fish, now set at 11,750 metric tons, should be reduced by 35 percent to help ensure the number of breeding fish return to safe levels by the year 2020.

The fish are highly migratory and the cooperation of many nations and strong international catch restraints are essential if the fishery is to rebuild to safe and sustainable levels, he said.

He said they were among the most valuable fish of the southern seas, with much of the catch ending up as sashimi.

Australia, Japan and New Zealand are the three major fishing nations who are convention members.

The small number of member countries has raised concerns about the increasing catch by non-member countries.