From The "Oh The Humanity" Dept. - Japan Cuts Atlantic Tuna Quota By NEARLY 25%

Wow. I do hope their fishing industry can survive this massive shock. :eyes:

TOKYO - The price of a high-end sushi dinner is set to rise in Japan after Tokyo's quota for Atlantic bluefin tuna was slashed on Wednesday by nearly a quarter over the next four years.

Environmentalists and scientists say populations of important commercial species such as bluefin tuna are critically depleted, endangering some stocks of the fish, a popular food in Japan, the world's largest fish consumer.
Japan's insatiable appetite for tuna has been a key factor behind the threat to stocks around the world, and increasing demand from other nations is now adding to that pressure.

A meeting in Tokyo of a group managing Atlantic tuna decided to cut Japan's quota for Atlantic bluefin by roughly 23 percent from its 2006 level of 2,830 tonnes to 2,175 tonnes in 2010.

The overall take of tuna in the region, which includes the Mediterranean and ranges deep into the Atlantic, will be cut to 25,500 tonnes from 32,000 tonnes in 2006, a drop of some 20 percent. The decision was criticised as too soft by scientists and environmentalists, who had demanded much steeper cuts.

EDIT

http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/40104/story.htm

25% of their entire tuna quota is huge. It certainly isn't something to be scoffed at. Would you have them give up eating their favorite food? What if the US suddenly cut beef production by 25%? Wouldn't that be major?

We'll cut this much, we'll cut that much, we'll do anything we can to keep at least some of the fleet employed, no matter what the state of the stock. And with ocean acidification already well underway and with climate rapidly pushing food stocks out of kilter, particularly in fertile northern seas, this may not be nearly enough. I

If you'll check some of the reports from the Baltic and North Seas (and they will be downthread here at E&E), it's become increasingly clear that much of blame for biomass loss issues they're facing can be laid at the feet of warmer water, which is far less supportive of keystone species - in the case of northern Europe, it's the sandeel which has collapsed, taking with it UK seabird populations and cod, to name two.

So, sure, in commercial terms, it's a substantial cut, but things are changing so quickly, I really have my doubts.

if it meant restoring the fisheries.

The oceans are the lifeblood of the world, and the damage we are doing is unfathomable. I think there should be a 5 year moratorium on ALL commercial fishing, worldwide.

but that's just unrealistic. If a population survives on seafood (and many nations do), what do you think would happen if all of the sudden they could no longer eat the staples of their diet? I just think you aren't looking at human need, 25% is a major cut in any industry. It's really drastic, as it should be. Hopefully other countries will follow suit. But even if we all follow suit, if the ocean keep warming and the acidity keeps rising it won't matter how much we cut commercial fishing. The numbers will dwindle and they will no longer be a sustainable food source.

when any comercial fishing group agrees to a decrease in catch it is reflected in their projected catch more than anything else

When I visited a shrimp fisherman in Seabrook Tx and he took me shrimping with hom one time.. To make a long story short, he caught 500lb's of shrimp. The legal amount was 300lb's so as not to overfish the area.. What was funny was that fact that every shrimperman on the dock did the same thing.. SOme of the bigger boat's brought in 600-1000lb's of shrimp and nobody was on the docks' to enforce the 300lb limit..

So who's going to enforce tuna limits??