Can we eat bluefin tuna responsibly? Yes and eat more if it’s from Europe, a Hong Kong importer says – it’s fished and farmed sustainably there
- Bluefin tuna have been hunted almost to extinction in the Pacific, but catch-size reductions and catch reductions have revived Atlantic bluefin tuna numbers
- This, plus innovative open-water tuna farming, not only make it ethical to eat but necessary, a Hong Kong importer says – fewer tuna mean of other fish species
Can we still enjoy bluefin tuna sustainably and in good conscience?
Absolutely, according to Hong Kong-based Spanish food importer Borja Sanchez. In fact, we should try to eat more of it from the Mediterranean Sea to save other fish stocks, he says.
A recent summary report by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), a body that regulates fishing of the animal, noted “positive signs” for Atlantic bluefin tuna.
It said catch-size limits and catch reductions had contributed to “a rapid increase in the abundance of the stock” of the fish, while admitting that illegal fishing still exists.
Furthermore, the report’s outlook projected “increases for the next two years” in the spawning of Atlantic bluefin tuna.
The report quoted another independent review’s conclusion that, under the current models of management, “abundance [of the species] has increased and is likely to continue to increase given recent patterns of fishing”.
