Losing the Lions of the Ocean

“Western Atlantic bluefin have declined by 82% since 1970 and it’s estimated there are only remaining 41,000 remaining reproductively mature individuals.”

Those are the words Sheril somberly provides in her post at the Intersection.  Carl Safina over diner once told me and others that tuna missing from the oceans was the equivalent of the African savannas without lions.

There are two things you can do to

1. As Sheril writes,



2. Watch what you eat.  Tuna is much like my first steady girlfriend. Wonderful but difficult and ultimately not worth the headache. I’m joking of course, but just about the tuna. Eating tuna is navigating a minefield because both your choice depends on both the species and the method of fishing. Unfortunately, the latter you are almost never likely to know. Soo…first always stay away from Bluefin. For other species of tuna (yellow fin, albacore, big eye), if you choose pole/troll or hand caught you will be fine.  For simplicity, always avoid long-line caught (although a few long-line fisheries are fine, you will never know if your tuna is from one of these).

Dr. M (1655 Posts)


5 comments on “Losing the Lions of the Ocean
  1. Pingback: Tweets that mention Losing the Lions of the Ocean | Deep Sea News -- Topsy.com

  2. Thank you for the post. This is an issue I’ve felt strongly about for years, and I signed the petition immediately.

  3. Even many of my friends who eat ethically have no idea about the pitfalls of eating tuna and are completely surprised when I give them the facts.

  4. Great post on a tragic subject. I do worry about even the most well-intentioned consumers getting the information they need to make their choices matter. Tuna is often sold as just “tuna” and waiters, chefs, or folks in the grocery store may not even know whether it’s bluefin, yellowfin, or albacore. DNA studies on other kinds of fish (like red snapper in California) have revealed an astonishing array of different species being sold under this name, but I don’t know if similar genetic studies have been done for tuna? I hope the labeling situation is at least a little better, but probably not 100% accurate…

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