Resource Library

EPO YELLOWFIN TUNA IN BIG TROUBLE

Jun 8, 2009

Some authorities theorize that overfishing has made eastern Pacific yellowfin harder to find, forcing seiners to work areas they might not ordinarily frequent, as well as to net much smaller fish. Mike McGettigan, founder of SeaWatch notes that data from the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission show eastern Pacific yellowfin catch having dropped from 423,000 tons in 2002 to 174,000 tons in 2006. “That’s a 60 percent drop,” McGettigan points out. “And the average weigh has also fallen during the same period from 15 kilos [about 33 pounds] to 7.8 kilos [about 17 pounds], or about 49 percent.” The average weight of the tuna now being caught are below reproductive age and weight and yet IATTC has done almost nothing to limit the fishing effort. The once prolific tuna are the next decimated species.