As Pacific bluefin tuna stocks dwindle to 2.6 percent of their historic population, the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission have promised to increase the fish’s population sevenfold.
“In a joint meeting Friday in Busan, South Korea, the two groups that manage Pacific bluefin tuna reached a historic long-term agreement that would put the species on the path to recovery,” says NPR. “The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission agreed to take steps to rebuild the population to 20 percent of historic levels by 2034 — a sevenfold increase from current levels.”
The groups promised to implement sliding catch limits based on the fish’s recovery rate, to meet every two years to develop harvest strategies, and to try to curb the illegal catch of bluefin tuna.
“The news comes on the heels of the National Marine Fisheries Service’s closure this week of the U.S. commercial Pacific bluefin fishery for the remaining four months of the year after fishermen exceeded the 2017 quota of 425 metric tons,” says NPR.
In August, the U.S. government rejected a petition to add the Pacific bluefin tuna to the endangered species list.