According to Greenpeace and the Environment and Animal Society of Taiwan (EAST), Pacific tuna could face extinction by 2048, due to overfishing, pirate fishing and exploitation.
In a news conference held last week, the two groups recommended a 50 percent reduction in tuna catches and asked the Taiwan government to support the Western and Central Pacific Fishery Commission (WCPCF), to “close the four pockets of international waters in the Pacific Ocean as marine reserves to sustain the tuna stock.” The WCPCF, also known as the Pacific Tuna Commission, is a decision making body comprised of 27 countries and territories around the world that manages tuna fishing in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean.
“Pacific tuna stocks are in crisis, and it is appalling that instead of reducing their tuna catches, fishing fleets are increasing their plunder of the Pacific. The fishing industry is in danger of fishing itself to death,” said 
Karli Thomas, Greenpeace New Zealand oceans campaigner. Closing all four pockets of international waters in the Pacific to all fishing and declaring the areas as marine reserves, is the only way to prevent the collapse of vulnerable tuna stocks. Although the Pacific Tuna Commission has agreed to stop tuna purse seining in two of areas beginning in January, 2010, urgent help is needed now.
More than half of all tuna caught globally comes from the Pacific. In 2008, nearly 2.5 million metric tonnes of tuna was caught in the Pacific, the highest annual catch on record. Taiwan is the second largest tuna producer in the world, behind Japan. Tuna-fishing vessels from the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, South Korea, Taiwan and the USA account for the highest tuna catches.
Greenpeace Expedition
“Defending Our Pacific,” a Greenpeace expedition, is currently underway to protect the Pacific tuna. The Greenpeace ship, Esperanza, is heading to the area in order to ensure vessels adhere to the August and September FAD ban on purse seine fleets that use fish aggregation devices (FADs). The devices are responsible for “wasteful bycatch of juvenile tuna and other endangered marine life such as sharks and turtles.” Watch updates on the Esperanza webcam.
Tuna photo NOAA Public Domain
Tuna sushi photo Akira Kamikura CC
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