Bluefin Tuna: Overview
Bluefin tuna are the most valuable fish in the world, coveted for their fatty belly meat, used in sushi as toro or maguro.
In 2009, a single bluefin tuna sold for more than $100,000 in Tokyo, where the world’s premium bluefin are sold at auction. As a result, the incentives are overwhelming for fishermen to drive bluefin toward extinction.
Western Atlantic bluefin tuna have been reduced by more than 82 percent. The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) estimates that as few as 25,000 individual mature bluefin tuna remain.
Overfishing, loss of their prey and tuna ranching all threaten bluefin tuna.
Oceana is working in the United States and Europe to protect bluefin tuna.
By ending overfishing, protecting the spawning grounds for these highly endangered species and protecting their primary prey from overexploitation, it may be possible to bring this magnificent fish back from the brink of extinction.
"Entourage" star Adrian Grenier joined Oceana in 2010 to swim with bluefin tuna. Watch his PSA and see photos from the dive at http://na.oceana.org/goingfast.