Bluefin tuna overfishing by Olamide Ayeni
https://www.thedodo.com/in-the-wild/bluefin-tuna-endangered-sushi
https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/08/07/trump-administration-refuses-to-list-pacific-bluefin-tuna-as-endangered-disappointing-environmentalists/
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/24/japan-criticised-exceed-bluefin-tuna-fishing-quota
Japan is the number one consumer of Pacific bluefin tuna. Reports say that the country was positioned to exceed its annual quota. It’s failure to abide by quotas to prevent commercial extinctions have alarmed Conservation Groups. 2.6% of the bluefins once high population is left due to decades of overfishing. Just a few more years of overfishing would lead to even more devastating population reductions. Japan and the Western & Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) agreed to lower the catches of immature bluefin by halving the catch of fish under 30kg from previous years. But the country was projected to reach its catch limit for younger tuna for the year two months early due to certain fisheries ignoring the restrictions. The plan to rebuild bluefin stocks to at least 20% by 2034 has been well supported. It is believed that if this fails, a “full commercial moratorium could be the only feasible course of legal action” Aiko Yamauchi, the leader of the oceans and seafood group for WWF Japan, says that it’s time to penalise fishermen who violated catch quotas. “The quotas should be mandatory, not voluntary,” Yamauchi said. “That’s why the current agreement hasn’t worked.”
Since new measures for this quota have been taken, the number of bluefin tuna have began to rise. Due to the recovery in stock, Japan proposed that it was feasible to increase catches up to 15% starting from 2019 but it was rejected. If the catch were increased to the level requested by Japan, the probability of reaching the rebuilding target would fall under 60%.
Question: Do you think it was feasible for Japan to propose a catch increase?
What are some effects of overfishing on our environment?
ReplyDeleteThe problem is they can’t stop people. It would be hard to track the fish. It is not a bad idea all together. Even though it’s hard it can work.
Though it would be hard to get a control over how many bluefin tuna are captured and killed by fisherman, it seems that she sort of order needs to be in place to prevent the extinction of these fish.
ReplyDeleteCaroline Wilhelms
It would be hard to track the fish and for people to stop fishing for them.
ReplyDeleteSammie Katz
Overfishing is a big issue it can destroy oceanic environments. I think we could just make fish farms to breed fish for consumption instead of getting them from the wild. For most of the meat we eat, we get it from farm-bred animals, so I think fish wouldn't be too different.
ReplyDeleteIan He
Over fishing i feel like is the number one problem we have in the world. Not only because they contribute a lot to the ocean life. But also because us, humans eat them. Some people actually live off fish. So if this continues to happen fish may be harder to find, more expensive, or the worst case become extinct.
ReplyDeleteJapan is a very colorful and diverse country. This over-reliance on one fish in the ocean is showing that they don't care about killing off the animal but more so gaining a greater profit
ReplyDelete-Ray
If this keeps happening ,I think it may be harder to find fish and more difficult to have access to.
ReplyDeleteTammia D
The fish could become extinct and many of it's predators and preys will be affected
ReplyDelete-Daniel Kelly