Is it time to take tuna off the menu? (BBC)

[eppur_se_muova]

By Stephen Dowling
BBC News Magazine


Bluefin tuna - the staple of sushi boxes the world over - is on the brink of extinction, with its plight highlighted in a new film. Sandwich seller Pret A Manger is changing its stance on tuna, but should the rest of us follow suit?

The bluefin tuna is one of the world's most impressive fish - a predatory cruiser of the open ocean that can zoom through the sea at the rate of 40mph and grow to the size of a small car.

The bluefin has become the unwitting star of the campaign to end overfishing. The End of the Line, a documentary based on a book by journalist Charles Clover, examines the mismanagement of bluefin fisheries as a microcosm of how we are hoovering the seas of their fish.

The bluefin is particularly prized in Japan. And the explosion in the market for sushi - which 25 years ago was a relative rarity outside Japan - has created a global market for the three species of bluefin, as has the taste for omega-3-rich tuna steaks to be pan-fried or thrown on a barbecue.
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"There are no large tuna anymore. There were bluefins of 250lb in Japanese fish markets when I went there four years ago - there are none now. A third of the catch is undersize."
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more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8090277.stm

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=115&topic_id=198196&mesg_id=198196


Folks in E/E have read all about this; posting in GD for a wider audience.

[kestrel91316]

1. Whine.......I'm gonna be real sad if I have to give up tuna. I don't eat

anywhere near as much as I did 20 years ago, but I guess it's not enough......

[msongs]

2. birth control pills and condoms for all humans - tunas may then make a comeback nt

[MercutioATC]

3. Wait...I thought we were only concerned about tuna fishing because of the dolphins...

We're finally concerned about the tuna themselves???