The Atlantic Bluefin Tuna is a large migratory fish found in the western and eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea. This species is at serious risk of extinction if unsustainable fishing practices in the Mediterranean are not stopped.
The Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) is a species of tuna in the Scombridae family. It is variously known as the northern bluefin tuna, giant bluefin tuna (for individuals exceeding 150 kilograms or around 330 pounds) and formerly as the tunny. Atlantic bluefin are native to both the western and eastern Atlantic Ocean, as well as the Mediterranean Sea. Atlantic bluefin have become extinct in the Black Sea. The Atlantic bluefin tuna is a close relative of the other two bluefin tuna species—the Pacific bluefin tuna and the southern bluefin tuna.
An amazing species with an uncertain future
The Atlantic bluefin tuna can reach over 4 metres in length and average around 250kg in weight.
When chasing prey they travel at speeds that can exceed 70 kph.
But the bluefin tuna stock in the Mediterranean Sea is at serious risk of collapse.
A massive and hi-tech commerical fishing fleet and illegal fishing could mean that this magnificent species is gone from Mediterranean waters.
It isn't too late… yet.
WWF is demanding a sensible and science-based management scheme in the long term, but this is not happening and the species is collapsing.
The only way to allow the recovery of bluefin tuna stocks in the Atlantic and Mediterranean - and ensure a sustainable fishing industry - is to temporarily ban global trade through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
The time to act is now.
" The hunting of highly valued animals into oblivion is a symptom of human foolishness that many consign to the unenlightened past, like the 19th century, when bird species were wiped out for feathered hats and bison were decimated for sport. But the slaughter of the giant bluefin tuna is happening now. "
The New York Times
