For once, strict managementappears to be working, while aquaculture is juicing up the number of fry beenreleased to accelerate the stock rebuilding program.
The good news is that we can expectstocks to be fully rebuilt in ten years to an optimal level. Even better, the global fishing industryseems to be adopting similar rules for other stocks and thus we can anticipatea full global recovery everywhere within perhaps forty years for most stocks. The failures will be those stocks huntedbelow the level necessary for an easy recovery as we seem to be seeing with theGrand Banks cod.
Even better news, is theemergence of a replacement fish for blue tuna that approaches a near one to oneconversion ratio. Thus the appropriatestyle of fish product will be availablefor the rising global middle class while the wild catch slides into been aniche market. Recall that aquaculturenow supplies half the market. That willgo to three quarter even with wild stocks rebuilding over the next twentyyears.
In Spite of Widely Publicized Fears, Bluefin Tuna Populations AreActually Rebounding
Released: 4/20/2011 11:20 AM EDT
Newswise — A study released on April 19 by the International Union forConservation of Nature (IUCN) offers a dire prediction: More than 40 species ofmarine fish currently found in the Mediterranean could disappear in the next few years. According to the report, commercialspecies, including the Bluefin Tuna, are considered threatened or nearthreatened with extinction at the regional level, mainly due to overfishing.
“The Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic population of the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus thynnus) is of particularconcern,” says Kent Carpenter, IUCN Global Marine Species AssessmentCoordinator. “There has been an estimated 50% decline in this species’reproduction potential over the past 40 years due to intensive overfishing. Thelack of compliance with current quotas combined with widespread underreportingof the catch may have undermined conservation efforts for this species in the Mediterranean .”
This statement is baffling given the best available information on theissues of the Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic Bluefin stock. The “widespread underreporting” and “lack of compliance withcurrent quotas” must refer to incidents before the 2008-2010 reform of ICCAT,as no reports of illegal fishing have been filed since 2009, according toICCAT’s illegal vessel list (http://www.iccat.int/en/IUU.asp),in spite of much strengthened policing of the waters and tighter control ofthe fishing. The study also contradicts the result of ICCAT’s scientific body,SCRS, which published a report (http://www.iccat.int/Documents/Meetings/Docs/2010_SCRS_eng.pdf)in autumn 2010, the most comprehensive assessment of the status of the stockever made.
“With the exception of the Atlantic Bluefin over the past two years,the Atlantic Bluefin stocks did suffer from a lack of coordinated managementover the last few decades,” notes Oli Steindorsson, Chief Executive Officer ofUmami Sustainable Seafood. Mr. Steindorsson, a native of an Icelandic fishingvillage, is relying on his deep roots in the industry, and lessons learned fromthe overfishing and replenishment of the cod stock in his native country, toposition Umami at the forefront of the fight for sustainable use of the world’sBluefin stock.
As concerns over depleting the natural stock of Bluefin Tuna haveincreased in recent years, the International Commission for the Conservation ofAtlantic Tunas (ICCAT) has reduced the total available catch for the EasternAtlantic Bluefin Tuna (NBT) from 32,000 metric tons in 2006 to 13,500 tons in2010 and 12,900 in 2011. A stock assessment conducted by SCRS in October 2010calculated the Mediterranean stock of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna at approximately175,000 metric tons, a significant improvement over a 2007 estimate of 78,000metric tons, 57% of the historical highpoint of the stock in 1955-1957.Management measures put in place by ICCAT have outlawed illegal unreportedcatches and set the stock on a track to regain its former prominence. Accordingto SCRS, the scientific body of ICCAT, the stock is expected to reachequilibrium in 2022, given the current quota of 12,900 metric tons.
Umami’s sustainability strategy is built around a set of objectives.For example, Umami strictly adheres to the catch levels scientifically requiredto permit the replenishment of Bluefin and other overfished species inparticular regions. Also, the tuna that is caught by Umami is being farmed yearround in cages at its facilities in Croatia and Mexico
“We are very proud of the work we have done to date to build asustainable aquaculture business around the Northern Bluefin Tuna species and we are excited about our future,” says Mr. Steindorsson.“Currently, we are the among very few companies in the world that is capable offarming Bluefin Tuna year-round. Our sites have been strategically chosen forthat purpose, and we hold more than half of the known locations worldwide wheretuna can be farmed year-round.
“There are no predators, such as sea otters, sea lions or sharks, inthe Adriatic waters—where our Croatian facility is located—that might attackthe fish in captivity. In the Pacific, where there are natural predators, wehave built cages to keep the predators out of our Mexican facility. The waterswhere our farming sites are located are pristine, with no cases of red or bluetide caused by the damaging build-up of algae. There is no industrialproduction nearby either of our facilities, and in both places there isexceptionally clean water. The islands surrounding the farm sites offer naturalshelter against most storms. In addition, the salt and oxygen levels and thewater temperature offer a good combination of conditions for sustainable growthof the tuna.”
Bluefin farmed by Umami is fed only whole, small pelagic fish. Nochemicals, drugs or additives are fed to the fish. Umami has managed tomaintain a feed-conversion ratio of 13:1 at its Croatian facility and 17:1 atits Mexican facility, in contrast to the industry average of around 20 and the25-30:1 ratio required in the wild. This means that the company is able tosustain its stock of tuna with considerably less feed than what even MotherNature can manage.
Umami’s operations hold a larger number of sexually mature fish thancan be found in captivity anywhere in the world, which in turn spawn in theircages, releasing fry into the wild. The company has put considerable resourcesinto a propagation program, and commercially viable breeding of the northernBluefin Tuna could become reality within a few years, eliminating the need forwild catch. Umami has a large brood stock population in Croatia, which has beenproven to spawn in 2009 and 2010, and it has expanded its knowledge andcapabilities in taking the fertilized eggs to the next stage. Umami is wellplaced to maximize its future production quantities with the use of specifictechnologies and propagation infrastructure and is focused on achieving theclear objective to close the life cycle of the species as soon as possible. Avariety of factors will determine the time involved in achieving this goal.
Umami has campaigned for lower quotas and stricter controls over thelast five years, and its stance remains that all fishing should be subject toquota, based on a scientific assessment of maximum annual yield.
“Umami already has a proven record of financial success, and we aretaking very good care of the environment along the way,” says Mr. Steindorsson.“Although Japan
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