Ecology and conservation. Whose fish are they anyway?

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 293; no. 5533; pp. 1267 - 1268
• Main Authors: Magnuson, J J, Safina, C, Sissenwine, M P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 17.08.2001
• Subjects: Animal Identification Systems; Animals; Atlantic Ocean; Behavior, Animal; Body Temperature; Conservation of Natural Resources; Diving; Ecosystem; Fisheries; Marine; Pisces; Population Dynamics; Reproduction; Swimming; Thunnus thynnus; Tuna - genetics; Tuna - physiology; Atlantic Ocean; A, Atlantic
• ISSN: 0036-8075
• DOI: 10.1126/science.1064052

The bluefin tuna has inspired art and literature, driven sport and commercial fisheries, and been the object of scientific debate, catch and allocation negotiations, and even fist fights. Weighing as much as 700 kg and often sighted at the ocean surface, they are valued above all other fish species for sushi and sashimi--one 200-kg bluefin recently sold at auction in Japan for a record $390 per pound. Atlantic bluefin tuna have been the subject of one of the most controversial fishery management sagas ever. At the core of the controversy is the dramatic decline in the abundance of the western Atlantic bluefin since the 1970s and the question of "whose fish are they?" The decline in the western Atlantic bluefin has intensified the question of "who gets the fish?" The U.S. fishing industries (both recreational and commercial) have argued that assessments of the western Atlantic bluefin population would be more optimistic if their movements between the western and eastern Atlantic were taken into account. They also have argued that they are being penalized for overfishing of bluefin by fishermen in the central and eastern Atlantic, including the Mediterranean Sea. A 1994 National Research Council (NRC) report on the western Atlantic bluefin population concluded that the trans-Atlantic movements or "mixing" of bluefin tuna needed to be taken into account, but that it would be imposible to do this reliably without better data.