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posted by martyb on Sunday September 12 2021, @09:29AM   Printer-friendly
from the sushi-news dept.

Good news for tuna as they bounce back from the brink of extinction:

There’s good news for the tuna you’re used to seeing in supermarkets, like Atlantic and Southern bluefin. These and two other species are showing signs of recovery from overfishing.

They have been hunted by commercial fishing companies for decades but now it’s hoped they might not go extinct, as previously feared.

The news comes from International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) which has just released an update to its Red List.

This list shows the extinction risk of thousands of species around the world. Unfortunately, more than 38,000 species are still facing the threat of extinction, but there were signs of recovery for some.

In 2011, most species of tuna were considered to be at serious risk of extinction. With 6 million tonnes[*] thought to have been caught in 2019, these are some of the most commercially valuable fish in the world.

In this update, the status of seven commonly fished tuna species was reassessed and there was good news for four of them.

The Atlantic bluefin tuna moved from Endangered to Least Concern and the Southern bluefin became Endangered rather than Critically Endangered. Both albacore and yellowfin tunas went from being Near Threatened to Least Concern.

“These Red List assessments are proof that sustainable fisheries approaches work, with enormous long-term benefits for livelihoods and biodiversity,” says Dr Bruce B Collette, chair of the IUCN SSC Tuna and Billfish Specialist Group.

“We need to continue enforcing sustainable fishing quotas and cracking down on illegal fishing.”

[*] That's 6 billion kilograms (~ 7.2 billion pounds). By comparison, there are approximately 7.8 billion people on earth, from infants to geriatrics. However you look at it, that's a lot of fish!


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 12 2021, @12:28PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 12 2021, @12:28PM (#1177213)

    Unfortunately that characterizes almost every conservation effort
    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/06/third-of-shark-and-ray-species-face-extinction-warns-study [theguardian.com]

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 12 2021, @06:31PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 12 2021, @06:31PM (#1177265)

    Yes, because typically there isn't something that steps in to prevent backsliding. I'm not sure what the equivalent for the paradox of efficiency in this case would be.

    Locally, the state cut back significantly on fish being caught and bought back boats and licenses. These days the fisheries impacted are mostly on the rise and likely to remain sustainable into the future. It isn't completely solved, climate change may change things, but it's helped a bunch.