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Effects of Overfishing Bluefin Tuna

 

            Conservationists are taking measures across the globe to protect endangered species that have reached dangerously low population levels. The Bluefin tuna is one such species that has gotten to a level of endangerment as a direct result of exploitative fishing practices. The species, which inhabits the southern hemisphere, has been recognized as an endangered species for the past 60 years. Bluefin tuna are being overfished throughout the southern hemisphere for their high commercial value in competitive fish markets. The Bluefin tuna is not the type of tuna that people purchase in canned tuna containers; it is the tuna that one orders at sushi restaurants in the form of sashimi. Demand for this fish's unique flavor has pushed fishermen to overfish it to a point where it is nearly extinct in the wild. Demand for the Bluefin tuna is greatest in Japan; 80% of all captured Bluefin goes into Japanese fish markets where it is bought, sold, and consumed (Bergin, 1996). Marine conservationists have gathered information leading to the conclusion that over the past 60 years, Bluefin tuna populations have decreased by 96% (Ellis, 2008). Statistical analysis has led conservationists to recognize the effect that overfishing has had on this species and that the Bluefin tuna is in an endangered state. The decline in the Bluefin's population has led several organizations to recognize the issue at hand; The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has placed the Bluefin tuna on the critically endangered list and Greenpeace, a governmentally independent environmental action organization has placed the fish on it's red list. While these measures have certain benefits for the maintenance of the Bluefin population, there are many greater factors that have led, and continue to lead, this species into a state of extinction. .
             There are many different types of tuna in the ocean but no other species is as endangered as the Bluefin.


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