Yellowfin tuna. Photo by NOAA Fisheries West Coast, Flickr.
The yellowfin tuna commonly enjoyed in sashimi, poke bowls and salad sandwiches may soon disappear from these dishes if current overexploitation rates remain unchanged, especially in the Indian Ocean.
New research has pinpointed four high-traffic areas in the Pacific Ocean that should be considered of high priority if conservation efforts focused on large pelagic fishes such as tuna, blue marlin and swordfish are to be successful.
Tuna at the Tsukiji fish market in Japan. Photo by Humanoid one, Wikimedia Commons.
Appearing in everything from sushi rolls to sandwiches, tuna are among the world’s favourite fish. But are our current tuna fishing habits sustainable?
Probably not, according to a new global database of tuna catches created by researchers at the University of British Columbia and University of Western Australia.
In a study published in Fisheries Research, scientists from the Sea Around Us initiative found that global tuna catches have increased over 1,000 per cent in the past six decades, fueled by a massive expansion of industrial fisheries.
Fish are expected to shrink in size by 20 to 30 per cent if ocean temperatures continue to climb due to climate change.
A new study by researchers at the University of British Columbia updates previous estimates published in 2013 and provides a deeper explanation of why fish are expected to decline in size.