Diver by the tuna tow nets in the Mediterranean.

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Over the past few decades, the inability of Governments to guarantee the sustainable exploitation of bluefin tuna stocks in different parts of the world has resulted in their severe depletion. Overfishing has already led to important decreases in bluefin tuna catches from the southern bluefin tuna stock (Thunnus maccoyii) in the South Pacific and from the western stock of the northern bluefin tuna population (Thunnus thynnus) in the West Atlantic, which is now the subject of a strict recovery plan. With the decline in catches in these two fisheries, the eastern stock of the northern bluefin tuna population has become the most important bluefin tuna fishery worldwide. Catches in this fishery take place mainly in the Mediterranean Sea.

Earlier this year, Greenpeace presented a detailed report about the state of the northern bluefin tuna population, with a particular focus on the eastern stock. The report “Where have all the tuna gone? How tuna ranching and pirate fishing are wiping out Mediterranean bluefin tuna”, analyses the state of this sub-population as well as the causes of its present mismanagement, particularly in the Mediterranean region.

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