There are only five licensed blue fin tuna seiners on the entire east coast of the United States. Just five. Of those five, only three are running currently and it may now be down to one or two this upcoming season.
The past few years these guys have effectively caught nothing - not a single fish. Yes, there are definitely fewer fish, but there are still massive blue fin schools to be found.
Yet - they're just not being caught here as easily as they once were. Why?
It's not necessarily because they're not there, but because conditions have to be perfect for a tuna seiner to be able to successfully make a set. One main reason they're catching fewer tuna is simply because they seem to be further out at sea. The Blue Fin's food source has been fished out locally near shore, and so they follow the food, which is now much further from land. Tuna also have to be relatively close to the surface to catch. Spotter planes may criss cross the oceans for days without even seeing a school.
Once a group is found (of the right legal size) and swimming at the surface, the boat has to be able to get there. There's a lot more ground to cover when the playing field includes open ocean and the boats aren't the fastest. In addition, tuna like to school with whale sharks - not so good for the net and fisherman hate bycatch.
So, it isn't the actual New England commercial fisherman who are depleting the stocks. Hell, they can't make a living anymore. If anyone in the U.S. can be blamed I would be more content to point a finger at the sports fisherman or weekend guys who go out, kill their quota (three I think) and come in. They make quite a bit of money doing this and often follow the commercial guy's sighting planes to find out where the schools are. Then, all the small sport boat has to do is get in the way. A commercial boat cannot legally make a set if there is am smaller boat within X number of feet.
As for the sports fisherman, there are hundreds of them. So if one actual seiner catches 350 fish in one entire season and in one weekend 350 sports fisherman meet their quota of three tuna each, the sports fisherman have already done more damage.
Those who blindly bark about commercial fishing generally have no idea what is going on, and while the sports guys may do more damage - it's nothing at all compared to what happens to the tuna school when it heads further east to the Meditteraneran.
This country has actually done quite a bit to sustain tuna populations - but they're a global species in that they migrate all over the world. Unless other countries are willing to do their part, Blue Fin will die. Some countries are trying. Others have strict legislation but no enforcement. Other countries don't have the power to effectively police the waters and the land. Some countries are set in their ways - they fish with hand held nets and the entire village relies on the once a year kill...there are a lot of factors.
It's going to take a global effort and like many of the people posting here have said, it's the fisherman who are heading the conservation campaigns - don't chastise the ones who do more for the effort than a majority of those who gripe and complain yet do nothing.
If you want to help, contact the fisheries. Let them know you want environmental global action. Educate yourself about the situation. Write a letter. Eat some yellow fin instead. Stop eating the tuna's food (schooling fish like herring and sardines). Just be productive instead of making the problem worse by effectively doing nothing and blaming the wrong people.
I don't eat tuna. I don't eat sushi. I am not a fisherman. I am not connected to tuna in anyway except that I know they are a keystone species. Instead of pointing fingers and arguing with others about the topics, I've chosen action. Contact ICAAT and request global action. Contact the UN and do the same. Those who fish from our country aren't making a dent in the populations because there are already strict quotas in place. Demand that other countries do the same.
The past few years these guys have effectively caught nothing - not a single fish. Yes, there are definitely fewer fish, but there are still massive blue fin schools to be found.
Yet - they're just not being caught here as easily as they once were. Why?
It's not necessarily because they're not there, but because conditions have to be perfect for a tuna seiner to be able to successfully make a set. One main reason they're catching fewer tuna is simply because they seem to be further out at sea. The Blue Fin's food source has been fished out locally near shore, and so they follow the food, which is now much further from land. Tuna also have to be relatively close to the surface to catch. Spotter planes may criss cross the oceans for days without even seeing a school.
Once a group is found (of the right legal size) and swimming at the surface, the boat has to be able to get there. There's a lot more ground to cover when the playing field includes open ocean and the boats aren't the fastest. In addition, tuna like to school with whale sharks - not so good for the net and fisherman hate bycatch.
So, it isn't the actual New England commercial fisherman who are depleting the stocks. Hell, they can't make a living anymore. If anyone in the U.S. can be blamed I would be more content to point a finger at the sports fisherman or weekend guys who go out, kill their quota (three I think) and come in. They make quite a bit of money doing this and often follow the commercial guy's sighting planes to find out where the schools are. Then, all the small sport boat has to do is get in the way. A commercial boat cannot legally make a set if there is am smaller boat within X number of feet.
As for the sports fisherman, there are hundreds of them. So if one actual seiner catches 350 fish in one entire season and in one weekend 350 sports fisherman meet their quota of three tuna each, the sports fisherman have already done more damage.
Those who blindly bark about commercial fishing generally have no idea what is going on, and while the sports guys may do more damage - it's nothing at all compared to what happens to the tuna school when it heads further east to the Meditteraneran.
This country has actually done quite a bit to sustain tuna populations - but they're a global species in that they migrate all over the world. Unless other countries are willing to do their part, Blue Fin will die. Some countries are trying. Others have strict legislation but no enforcement. Other countries don't have the power to effectively police the waters and the land. Some countries are set in their ways - they fish with hand held nets and the entire village relies on the once a year kill...there are a lot of factors.
It's going to take a global effort and like many of the people posting here have said, it's the fisherman who are heading the conservation campaigns - don't chastise the ones who do more for the effort than a majority of those who gripe and complain yet do nothing.
If you want to help, contact the fisheries. Let them know you want environmental global action. Educate yourself about the situation. Write a letter. Eat some yellow fin instead. Stop eating the tuna's food (schooling fish like herring and sardines). Just be productive instead of making the problem worse by effectively doing nothing and blaming the wrong people.
I don't eat tuna. I don't eat sushi. I am not a fisherman. I am not connected to tuna in anyway except that I know they are a keystone species. Instead of pointing fingers and arguing with others about the topics, I've chosen action. Contact ICAAT and request global action. Contact the UN and do the same. Those who fish from our country aren't making a dent in the populations because there are already strict quotas in place. Demand that other countries do the same.
http://www.gpa.unep.org/content.html?id=180&ln=6
http://www.iccat.int/en/