Recovery in Bluefin Tuna Stocks Brings New Headaches

Tokyo, July 11 (Jiji Press)–While bluefin tuna stocks have recovered from overfishing-caused plunges under international fishing management, a surge in the population is causing new problems in Japan. At an international conference on tuna haul quotas being held in the southwestern Japan city of Nagasaki through Tuesday, the Japanese government stressed that the unprecedented abundance of bluefin tuna is causing various problems for the ecosystem and the fishing industry. According to the latest data from the International Scientific Committee for Tuna and Tuna-Like Species in the North Pacific Ocean, tuna stocks increased from around 12,000 tons in 2010 to 144,000 tons in 2022. If current resource management measures are maintained, the figure is predicted to exceed 200,000 tons in 2030. Last month, Japan’s Fisheries Agency held a briefing session on its strategy for the conference, but a fishery worker from Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, reported that despite reduced fishing trips and longline hooks, so much tuna are being caught that many need to be released. Meanwhile, a fisheries cooperative in Nagasaki Prefecture, where the conference’s host city is located, voiced worries that pole-and-line tuna fishing would become unprofitable if too many fish enter the market and push down prices significantly. Bluefin tuna are at the top of the marine food chain, and an increase in their population could lead to a decrease in their prey, such as mackerel and squid, which could in turn reverse their recovery. At the international conference, Japan proposed increasing the quota for large fish in the western and central Pacific by 25 pct and reducing the quota for smaller fish by 6 pct. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]