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ePaper created 2014-04-01, 00:50:16 | version 1.29.01
. 10 What’s your favourite way to eat tuna? Mixed with mayonnaise and sweetcorn on a sandwich; as a steak with new potatoes and mixed veg? Whatever your preference, it doesn’t ever seem to cross people’s minds that such a beautiful creature is more suitable to the ocean, rather than stacked in metal tins on supermarket shelves or in your pack of sushi. It is a source of nutrition for millions of our earth’s population, but the modern fishing industry has exploited this species to near extinction. The bluefin tuna is now as equally endangered as the rhinoceros, yet multinational corporations that are in charge of both the fishing and supermarket industries, are only speeding up the decline of this magnificent species in their continual pursuit for short-term financial gains. One organisation which has released multiple articles that starkly highlight the dangerously overfished state of the tuna fish is WWF. A recent article of theirs explains that since the 1960’s, with the introduction of new fishing technology like purse seine nets, global tuna catches have risen by 70%. Boris Worm from Dalhousie University in Canada predicted in his 2006 study that by 2048, commercial seafood may disappear altogether. This is quite a contrast from assertions being made at the Fisheries Exhibition in London, 1883 when it was claimed that “all the great sea fisheries are inexhaustible, that is to say that nothing we do seriously affects the number of the fish.” If only our nineteenth century predecessors had the gift of hindsight and could see how naive their predictions, combined with their actions actually were. the truth about: tuna This naivety, combined with the population boom, lead to an industrialisation of fishing practices and resulted in the current state of our oceans today with the majority of fish stocks at an all-time historic low. The removal of large fish that are typically targeted by fisher’s today, such as the various species of tuna, leaves fish populations that lack in reproduction. This obviously then reduces the species’ chances of further survival. Yet not only are the targeted species in danger, but so are any other species that share habitats with our seafood favourites, such as dolphins, turtles and manta rays. These marvellous creatures are at risk too because the methods used to capture target fish like tuna, mainly by destructive purse seine nets, often are indiscriminate and impact upon the whole ecosystem, thus affecting the entire food chain. So the vital problem is that too many fish are removed from the ocean before they can breed. But with the population of the earth increasing and over half of these inhabitant’s living within 60 km of the shoreline, more people are continuing to rely on the sea as a source of such nourishment. But what methods are being done to help, if any? Well, organisations like Seafish is an authority which seeks to balance the economics and sustainability of the seafood industry. They do this by promoting responsible locally- sourced fish as opposed to relying on the importing of tropical species like the bluefin tuna. Moreover, as people will undoubtedly continue to eat tuna while it is still in our oceans, there are different methods of fishing we should be supporting by buying certain supermarket brands. The most sustainable form of tuna fishing is by ‘pole and line’ catches and the brands which practice such measures will indicate so on their labels. The use of fish aggregation devices (FADS) is associated with the destructive methods of tuna fisheries. These are illegal structures placed in the ocean that attract a wide variety of marine life which is then netted with purse seines, causing indiscriminate catches of fish like sharks, turtles, dolphins and rays. Many supermarket brands still fund such illegal fishing operation which are guilty of contributing to the degradation of our marine life. The 2014 tuna league, organised by Greenpeace, assessed the capture methods from household brands: John West, Princes and Oriental & Pacific and rated them most guilty of using FADS. Whereas Sainsburys, Co-operative, Waitrose and Morrisons’ own brands were all certified as using pole-and line or other sustainable catch methods. It is unclear whether we will witness the extinction of species like the bluefin tuna in our lifetime. However, this process will be less likely to occur if the large- scale corporations guilty of using these methods aren’t funded in the way they aim to be. This will be less likely to occur if we become educated enough about brands like these which are contributing to the disappearance of one of the world’s favourite fish. images by: Justin Woolford words by: Megan Wooldridge