Conservationists raise concerns about bluefin tuna stocks

Want China Times, CNA 2014-04-20

The two fish at the annual Pingtung Bluefin Tuna Festival in Donggang. (Photo/CNA)

Conservationists showed up at a bluefin tuna auction in the southern county of Pingtung on Saturday to promote awareness of the diminishing population of the species.

The auction of the season's first bluefin tuna catch was held as part of the annual Pingtung Bluefin Tuna Festival in Donggang. The two fishes — weighing 299.6kg and 280kg, respectively — fetched a total of NT$2.8 million (US$95,600) at the auction.

The Greenpeace members held banners that urged Taiwan's Fisheries Agency to "do conservation work properly" and they handed out balloons to remind visitors that "the bluefin tuna population has decreased by 96.4% over the last 60 years."

They urged Taiwan, a member of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, to ask Japan, Korea and Mexico to cut their catches of young bluefin tuna by half to sustain fish stocks.

Speaking at the auction, Council of Agriculture deputy minister Hu Hsing-hua stressed that Taiwan has made great efforts to conserve the bluefin tuna species.

Every year, only 660 vessels are allowed to catch bluefin tuna, and longline fishing is being used instead of purse-seining, in order to protect the young fish, Hu said.

He also said the purpose of the Pingtung Bluefin Tuna Festival is not to promote bluefin tuna eating but rather to encourage people to visit Donggang to boost the local economy.