TOKYO—The latest scientific assessment paints a likely bleak future for the Pacific bluefin tuna, a sushi lovers’ favorite whose population has dropped by more than 97 percent from its historic levels.
A draft summary of a report by the International Scientific Committee for Tuna and Tuna-like Species in the North Pacific Ocean seen by The Associated Press shows the current population of bluefin tuna is estimated at 2.6 percent of its “unfished” size. A previous assessment put the population at an already dire 4.2 percent.
Overfishing has continued despite calls to reduce catches to allow the species to recover. In some areas, bluefin tuna is harvested at triple the levels considered to be sustainable.
“The situation is really as bad as it appears,” said Amanda Nickson, director for Global Tuna Conservation at The Pew Charitable Trusts.
Limits imposed after the previous estimates actually allowed some countries to up their catches, she said. “If those managers again fail to act in a conservation-minded way this time, it may be time for other actions, such as an international trade ban or complete fishing moratorium,” Nickson said.
The independent scientists who compiled the report said improved data make them more confident in their latest estimates than in previous ones. The report is due to be reviewed by the committee in July.
The report estimated that in 2014, the total recruitment level of the fish, or the percentage of new fish that survive each year, was below 3.7 million fish, the second lowest level ever.
Under current levels of reproduction and management of the fisheries in the Pacific, the likelihood of rebuilding stocks to healthy levels is only 0.1 percent, the report says. Cutting catches by a fifth would improve those odds to only 3 percent.
Japanese eat about 80 percent of all bluefin tuna caught worldwide, and stocks of all three bluefin species—the Pacific, Southern and Atlantic—have fallen over the past 15 years as demand for the luscious, buttery pink-to-red fleshed fish has soared globally.
Organizations charged with helping to manage bluefin fisheries have set a goal of rebuilding the species’ population to 6.4 percent, or 42,592 metric tons, of unfished levels by 2024.
Image credits: AP/Shizuo Kam bayashi