Like the panda, the tiger, or the orca whale, the bluefin tuna is a longstanding, iconic mascot for conservation initiatives. The 2009 film, The End of the Line raised concern about “the imminent extinction of the bluefin tuna,” and since then, bluefin has become an iconic mascot for ocean conservation. The species is classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and is a focal point for longstanding campaigns and initiatives by major environmental NGOs like the World Wildlife Fund and the Center for Biological Diversity. A study from 2013 that estimated Pacific bluefin populations declined by 96.4 percent from its historic, unfished size, is still often cited today.
However other seafood sustainability stakeholders are beginning to adjust their stance on bluefin tuna. The Marine Conservation Society – the U.K. equivalent to the Seafood Watch program – rates East Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna fisheries as, “Ok – Needs Improvement.” The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) made headlines three years ago when it certified a small artisanal bluefin fishery in the South of France, marking the first time this species received the blue check logo. In 2022, the IUCN has reported signs of recovery for Atlantic bluefin tuna, moving the species from “Endangered” to “Least Concern.”
Recent anecdotal reports of bluefin tuna in large numbers, or in historical waters that were recently deserted, have fueled this changing narrative. A large influx of bluefin in central California spurred a successful recreational and commercial season in 2023. The fishery was so plentiful that sustainable seafood purveyors like Real Good Fish, a community-supported fishery based in Moss Landing, CA that traditionally avoids bluefin tuna, offered it to their members for the first time. In the North Atlantic Ocean, jumping bluefin were remarkably sighted off the coast of Sweden, a first in 60 years.
However, some are concerned that good news is dangerous for bluefin tuna. They worry that even the smallest encouraging updates on the status of this species will unleash a floodgate of demand and fishing effort, sending the species back to critically endangered status. To consider that perspective, this article reviews the last few decades of bluefin tuna fishery management and summarizes its current conservation status. Can fishery management revive this species and keep it sustainable into the future?
How did bluefin tuna become overfished in the first place?
The sustainability status of commercial bluefin tuna varies from ocean to ocean, and population to population. However, the storyline of this resource generally follows the same pattern: minimal demand and low exploitation, then a sharp increase in demand with overexploitation, followed by ineffective fishery management attempts to control fishing effort.
The eastern Atlantic bluefin tuna stock exemplifies this story arch. They breed in the Mediterranean Sea and have been harvested since ancient Roman times. However, it was not until the global spread of the sushi industry in the 1980s that this stock experienced severe overfishing. Quotas dropped but the catch stayed high, resulting in significant overfishing (Figure 1). It is estimated as much as 50,000 to 61,000 tons of bluefin tuna per year were caught in the East Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea during the late 1990s and early 2000s– so many that conservation experts said the species was at risk of extinction. In 2012, an episode of Whale Wars, a TV show following the aggressive and often violent conservation efforts of the F/V Sea Shepherd and its crew, documented its vessel ramming a bluefin tuna holding pen near Malta. The force of the impact destroyed the pen, releasing 800 bluefin tuna back into the sea. Marine conservationists celebrated as British courts dismissed the lawsuit from the Maltese tuna company. Bluefin tuna was becoming a marine conservation talisman for the mainstream.
An important factor in the bluefin tuna story is its culinary characteristics. It is uniquely suited for raw preparations like no other finfish. The intra and inter-muscular fat is more pronounced than other tuna species, greatly enhancing the flavor and texture. They grow to enormous sizes which improves the yield and allows for larger cuts of the fattiest parts like the belly or “toro” in Japanese. After harvest, bluefin holds up well for long periods on ice (as do other large tuna species). Bluefin freezes well and can be dry-aged like beef to enhance flavor and improve shelf life. All these factors have increased the marketability and range of culinary applications for bluefin.
These days, bluefin tuna is also synonymous with luxury and quality, making it essential to most sushi bars and giving it a singular place in Japanese food culture. The most extreme example of bluefin’s premium reputation is the annual New Year’s tuna auction in Tokyo’s Tsukiji fish market where the first bluefin of the year fetches an outrageous, publicity-fueled price—the current record is a 612-pound bluefin sold for $3.1 million in 2019.
This valuable sushi ingredient has proved difficult to manage, however, as Regional Fishery Management Organizations (RFMOs) struggled to corral eager fishing fleets looking to capitalize on the growing demand for fatty tuna. In 1998, with western Atlantic bluefin tuna populations already at record lows, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) implemented a recovery plan, set quotas and stricter minimum size limits on catch. But that plan, and many variations since, was not particularly effective. Eastern Atlantic bluefin experienced even greater fishing efforts over the next 10 years, mostly in the Mediterranean where they breed. Studies estimated catch far exceeded the quota for eastern Atlantic bluefin in 2010 and 2011, compromising management efforts (see Figure 1 above).
Highly migratory species like bluefin tuna are inherently challenging to manage effectively compared to other marine resources. Bluefin tuna do not stay within convenient management boundaries or national borders. Research suggests they can swim 15,000 kilometers each year, spanning oceans and numerous jurisdictional boundaries. RFMOs must convene diverse stakeholders and create management plans and fishing quotas in international waters where oversight is difficult and unrelated political issues compromise cooperation. Even if the political will was more unified, there is much we don’t fully understand about bluefin tuna. For example, new research (published in 2022) still debates the spawning ground location for Atlantic bluefin tuna.
How did things turn around?
Around 2010, bluefin catch began to decline as quota reductions finally began to take hold and reflect in the Eastern Atlantic catch data. By 2017, ICCAT stock assessments suggested overfishing of Eastern Atlantic bluefin had stopped.
In 2011, the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) prescribed measures to reduce the catch of small bluefin tuna while also limiting the catch of very large bluefin tuna. The Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) adopted a similar approach, allowing more Pacific bluefin tuna to mature. Change didn’t come quickly, and in 2016 petitions mounted to place Pacific bluefin tuna on the endangered species list, but managers stayed the course, and in 2022, the International Science Committee for Tuna and Tuna-like Species in the North Pacific released a new stock assessment showing the species is now increasing with more younger fish than before, which forecasts an accelerate population rebound.
Sustainability authorities and policymakers reflected these improvements with certifications and increased catch opportunities. In 2020, two MSC certifications were awarded to bluefin tuna fisheries in the Mediterranean Sea, marking the first such certification for these species anywhere in the world. In 2021 Atlantic bluefin was removed from the IUCN Red List and reclassified as a species of “Least Concern.” That same year, the WCPFC increased the allowable catch of 30kg-sized bluefin tuna by 15%.
The feedback from fishers is similarly positive and widespread. Bluefin are back in places like Santa Cruz, California, the British Isles, and even Scandinavia, all of which have not seen bluefin in these numbers for many years, even decades. Sport fishers are landing larger fish too – in 2023 an angler caught a 676-pound bluefin near Port Aransas, Texas, only to be outdone by a 750-pound monster recorded a few days later. North Carolina reported its best bluefin tuna season in years last year as well.
Why is there still concern from conservationists?
Despite a growing wave of scientific evidence and observer reports to support a resurgence of bluefin tuna, many conservationists are hesitant to modify the sustainability status of this species. The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program still does not rate any bluefin fishery, regardless of catch location or fishing method, higher than “Avoid.” Some experts like Ding Yutian, a researcher for Greenovation Hub, worry bluefin catch quota increases in the Pacific Ocean were granted too soon. The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) still sponsors a “Bluefin Tuna Boycott” campaign and lobbies the U.S. federal government to add it to the endangered species list.
Part of the problem is because longstanding campaigns like those of the CBD, Oceana, Pew Charitable Trusts, World Wildlife Fund, and countless other organizations have effectively fundraised in the name of bluefin tuna conservation for years. If there is still any doubt to sow about an overfished resource like bluefin tuna, these campaigns are probably going to keep plugging along. Bluefin tuna conservation challenges went mainstream in moments like 2008’s “The King of Sushi,” 60-Minutes episode that at the time, introduced a massive audience to this species and its management challenges. It’s confusing to minimally informed, mainstream audiences if the compelling narrative they recently discovered is less straightforward than it appeared on TV or in the fundraising newsletter of their favorite marine conservation organization. Unfortunately, messaging about sustainability issues often becomes black and white, good or bad, sustainable or unsustainable. A nuanced take on bluefin populations is tricky to communicate.
Others are worried about “releasing the floodgates” on the still recovering bluefin populations. Is the market ready for sustainable, accessible, and affordable bluefin tuna? The unique characteristics of this species have made it difficult to substitute with other tuna species, and basic principles of economics would suggest the incentive to overfish such a valuable resource could pose a management challenge. Mike Robinson, a Michelin-starred chef and restaurateur in London spoke to the Guardian about the new bluefin tuna fishing season, and said, “The most important thing is that it is not abused. It’s very hard to police. Hopefully, these resources won’t be hammered by people outside our control.”
Robinson’s concerns are understandable, but it is important to explain why they are unjustifiable. The very same mechanisms that he questions for protecting bluefin today are those that revived overfished bluefin tuna in the first place. It took a few years for ICATT and the WCPFC to enforce quota reductions and modify their assessment methodologies, but they were eventually able to enforce catch reductions on this species. Those policies were upheld on the high seas with many fishing nations and powerful private stakeholders taking heed of the new laws. We cannot deny the ongoing recovery of this species thanks to fishery management improvements over the last two decades. A 2023 bluefin fishing season in the U.K.—its first in 60 years—was justified by the best available science.
The market’s unique desire for this magnificent species shouldn’t be a concern if we trust fishery managers. Bluefin recovery was made despite this immense demand, and there is no reason to think bluefin demand in 2024 will suddenly topple reasonable policy decisions. State observers and catch enforcement authorities won’t suddenly be bribed at the dock at a measurably higher rate that compromises TAC and throws the species back towards dangerously low biomass. This is an absurd example of course, but what exactly are we expecting when we worry about this species being “hammered”? Illegal fishing for bluefin is still happening, as with any highly migratory species. However, illegal landings have not derailed recovery efforts. Furthermore, a brief open season in the U.K. will not trigger a dangerous spike of illegal landings, nor will a slightly higher TAC in the western central Pacific ocean. Illegal fishing will always be a threat for high-value species like bluefin tuna. The percentage increase or decrease in the TAC will not change that threat.
Cynicism in governance is well earned in 2024. There will be greedy actors in the bluefin tuna industry looking to capitalize on loosened restrictions. And bluefin tuna populations are not completely rebuilt and stable by any means – there is still much to do in shepherding this species back to more sustainable levels. But if we believe in fisheries management, these unique bluefin characteristics shouldn’t override the best available science in management decisions. The recent and ongoing bluefin tuna recovery proves that this species can be rebuilt, and managers are capable to keeping the bad actors at bay.
Jack Cheney
Jack has sourced, sold, cooked, and sustainably certified seafood over the past 10 years. In addition to his contributions to Sustainable Fisheries UW, he is working to increase traceability into supply chains and educate consumers, chefs and retailers on the value of environmentally sustainable seafood. He earned a Master's in Marine Affairs from the University of Washington in 2015.
