A friend recently tweeted a link to this video about the decline of the Blue Fin Tuna and their possible extinction as soon as 2012:

It is an animated film that covers the decline in Blue Fin tuna stock as a result of commercial fishing, wasteful tuna farms and increasing consumption combined with the dangers of unenforced international laws. Viewing this film may just cause you to rethink your next maguro sashimi or spicy tuna roll. While we are on the brink and may already be too late to stop the extinction of the tuna, perhaps we can use this as a wake-up call to help create sustainable fishing practices, or even better increase the frequency of your vegetarian meals before the worlds fisheries face total collapse. Japan, accused of paying off countries for votes to help continue whale hunting and dolphin killing is again identified as using these tactics to buy votes from impoverished countries that are members of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to allow the continued trade of the endangered fish. A dire warning comes at the end of the video letting us know that we have little time left to make a change. A link to the creator’s website appears where I was able to locate more information about the group producing the video and their cause. Here they summarize their concerns:

The Bluefin tuna is one of the largest predators of the sea, measuring well over 4 metres and weighing more than 750 kg. It’s a warm-blooded, boned fish that can swim up to 90 kilometres per hour. Annually they migrate thousands of miles, crossing the world’s oceans.

For millennia, mankind has fished for the Bluefin. Some of the traditional fishing techniques are still being used today. But commercial fishing techniques were launched in the Fifties. Ever since, Bluefin tuna stocks have been reduced by 97%. And more fishing vessels are being built right now. Almost every country in the Meditteranean is hunting Bluefin tuna.

International laws dictate that a Bluefin has to weigh at least 30 kg before slaughter, guaranteeing at least one reproduction cycle. That’s because a tuna is sexually active from 5 years of age. But in reality the tunas are secretly caught and fattened in farms.

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) is setting higher fishing quotas than their own scientists advise. And specialists estimate that the real Mediterranean catch is four times the maximum quota. The main reason is because there is almost no enforcement of the international fishing laws, and most of the catches are illegal.

Sushi is the main reason the Bluefin is facing extinction. By far the biggest market for the Bluefin is Japan. Maguro sushi is extremely popular with the Japanese, while the use of Bluefin is a trend. Because up until 20 years ago Bluefin was considered unclean.

Recently, one single Bluefin clocked in at 300,000 euro. The less Bluefin tunas that are left in the oceans the more they will cost. This is also known as the economies of extinction, and is bringing the species on the verge of extinction.

Chances are that the last wild Bluefin tuna will die in 2012. If the Bluefin becomes extinct, it could have a major impact on the fragile ecosystems of our oceans. These ecosystems absorb most of the global warming and gives us up to 80% of our oxygen.

If the oceans die, we die.

How do they plan to change the world? They are collecting monetary and donations of equipment that they can use to intervene in illegal poaching activities. Their plan? “The U.N. World Charter for Nature enables individuals or groups of people to act when there is no enforcement of the international fishing laws. Here lies our focus.”  Here is their wishlist:

Their methods may seem extreme, but so is the danger we face if our ecosystem becomes even more unbalanced due to the extinction of the Blue Fin Tuna. I plan to do my part by eliminating tuna from my diet completely and urging my friends and family to do the same. What will you do to help?