Requiem for the BlueFin

In Japan, a single bluefin tuna sold at auction for $736,000.  That's for one fish!  That particualr tuna weighed almost 600 pounds, which translates into a lot of sushi.  But still, we have to ask, why would one fish cost that kind of money?  Simple answer; supply and demand. Bluefin tuna stocks in the world's oceans are estimated to have plummeted 90% in the last few decades due to overfishing.  

The bluefin is an apex predator; large, and lightning fast in pursuit of prey. They are like olympic athletes; sleek, magnificiently muscled, and genetically perfected to their niche at the top of the ocean food chain.

Because bluefin numbers have declined so precipitiously, regulations are now in place that limit when, where, and how bluefin tuna can be taken by humans.  Despite those restrictions, the exploitation continues, and the market price for bluefin has gone through the roof, making fisherman even more determined to hunt the big tuna that are left.

As long as humans see these majestic fish only in economic terms, their future is bleak.  In fact, at current demand, ocean bluefin stocks could be commercially extinct in just three years.

Greenpeace characterizes eating bluefin to be akin to eating rhino or tiger.   Greenpeace Oceans campaign director John Hocevar pointedly says, "Don't sell it. Don't buy it. Don't eat it. Critically endangered species are not food." 

Here is a video that shows the bluefin at work in its own element...

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/animals/fish-animals/spiny-rayed-fish/tuna_eat_bait_ball/