Over Fished – The Australian Fishing Zone is the third largest in the world.
Environmental groups are calling for a permanent ban on ''deadly'' artificial fishing devices known as FADs (fish aggregation devices) used to attract huge tuna catches in the Pacific after scientific reports found that stocks of Bigeye tuna are collapsing. ''Bigeye tuna are seriously overfished and have a strong affinity for FADs,'' a Greenpeace Oceans campaigner, Genevieve Quirk, said. ''Juvenile fish are found more frequently with FADs. This seriously undermines the population as fish are removed before they have the chance to breed.'' More than half of the world's tuna is now caught in the Pacific and is valued at between $US3 billion and $US4 billion ($ billion and $ billion). And almost one-third of all Bigeye, Yellowfin and Skipjack tuna is being caught by vessels using FADs, says a report by the Australian Bureau of Rural Sciences. But what began as simple wooden platforms to attract tuna for local fishermen are now sophisticated devices often employing satellite beacons and sonar. The devices are operated by vessels with encircling purse seine nets that can be the size of several city blocks. These purse seine vessels are primarily chasing Skipjack to supply the supermarket canned tuna trade. But Australian and Pacific scientists agree that the FADs also catch large numbers of juvenile Bigeye and Yellowfin tuna, seriously affecting adult numbers. ''There is a common consensus globally that current catch levels for some tuna species are unsustainable and that the use of FADs needs to be more tightly controlled,'' the Bureau of Rural Sciences vessels do not employ the devices because they are mainly long-line fishing for adult Bigeye and Yellowfin tuna for the export market. But among other Pacific nations, such as Japan, Taiwan, Korea and New Zealand, their use is widespread. This is leading to growing concerns that Bigeye and Yellowfin tuna fishing will face commercial extinction.
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Location: South East Queensland Australia
Photo credit: © Adrian Page / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: apron, blue, box, cap, carry, fisherman, gloves, green, harbour, ice, landscape, man, packing, tuna, white, working, yellowfin
