Do you think we will see Bluefin Harvested to Extinction?

[Bud Man]

Whats your guys thoughts on this?

In my heart I believe that due to politics in the Eastern Atlantic Range of the Blue fin tuna we will see a complete collapse. Blue fin will be harvested to the very last one if allowed.

Here is a great post from last year in regards to the same issue
Call for a ban on Bluefin in Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic


Has the human race ever harvested an edible species into extinction?

[Heli Sports]

Whats your guys thoughts on this?

Has the human race ever harvested an edible species into extinction?

I can't think of a marine species that has been harvested to the point of extinction. Eventually some kind of intervention takes place, stocks level out and ultimately begin to recover. Unfortunately this often takes place at the eleventh hour, such as in the case of the Atlantic Cod, Porbeagle Shark and Right Whale.

Regarding the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna; in spite of the resiliancy and high fecundity of the species, at least two separate? "meta-populations" have been harvested to point of stock collapse. One is the Brazilian meta-population which was fished to the point of near extermination by the Japanese longline fleet during the 1960's:

National Research Institute of Far Seas Fisheries, Japan Document

The other is the Norwegian meta-population:


Through the late 1950's, Scandinavian seas (the Öresund, Skagerrak and Kattegatt Straits) were the summer home of a tremendous population of Bluefin tuna. And up until the mid 1970's, the waters of the North Sea and Norwegian Sea hosted huge numbers of Bluefin from June through October.



Although Bluefin had been caught by Danish fishermen as early as the mid 1800's, it was not until after World War I that Germany, Norway, Denmark and Sweden began large-scale industrial fishing for these tuna.

"Major tuna fishing countries at the time such as Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Germany, recorded virtually no bluefin landings in 1910 and almost 5,500 tonnes by 1949. In 1915 nearly 8,000 bluefin (690 tons) were landed in Gothenburg, Sweden alone.

In 1929, Denmark built its first tuna cannery – a milestone in the new industrial approach echoing elsewhere in Europe. In the 1920s, the catch peaked at Boulogne, France, homeport for the French bluefin fishers in the North Sea.

Landings of bluefin tuna by northern European boats in record numbers soared through the 1940s and by decade’s end approached the catch levels of traditional Mediterranean fisheries. In 1949, Norway had 43 boats in pursuit of the bluefin; the next year it had 200. Norwegian catches briefly exceeded 10,000 tons per year in the early 1950s."

Skagen Denmark (1946?)


Landings of Scandinavian Bluefin continued to soar during the 1950's:

"The total weight of tunnies brought to Danish fishing harbours in 1959 was 772 000 kg, approximately 8000 bluefins. Today there is no fishing at all for tuna in Danish waters."

By the 1960's, the fisheries of Denmark and Sweden were in severe decline, however the North Sea continued to produce and Norway had massive landings:

"The last bastion for the bluefin in the waters of Scandinavia must have been the North Sea coast between Brandasund and Bueland in Norway. During the 60´s and 70´s, a yearly catch of 600 000 kg to 700 000 kg was normal in Norwegian waters. According to the National Norwegian Board of Fisheries in Bergen the following catches of bluefin have been made during the 80´s. 1980 (282 000 kg),1981(161 000 kg), 1982 (0 kg), 1983 (18 000 kg), 1984 (243 000 kg) 1985 (0 kg), 1986 (31 000 kg), 1987-89 (0 kg)."

f/v Speranza - Nice set North Sea (1967)


Before the decimation of these North European stocks, Sweden and Denmark had prolific sport fisheries as well:

"In 1945, Arvid Carlander boarded six tunnies during seven days weighing 1239 kg. The heaviest weighed 240 kg. In 1947, Arvid Carlander boarded 24 bluefin. One day he caught six with the total weight of 1000 kg. In 1949, Arvid Carlander hooked and landed nine tuna during four days. Another Swede fishing the Öresund waters around 1950 was the Swedish king, Gustaf VI Adolf. He hooked and landed several tunas on rod and line. The golden age for Öresund was between 1946 and 1952. In 1948, 350 tunnies were caught, 150 on rod and line and 200 by handliners. Commercial fishermen caught individual tuna close to 500 kg.

In 1949, Danish angler Carl Bauder alone boarded 68 tunnies weighing 10 310 kg. One week he hooked and landed 18 bluefin and was from that week called "the Tunny King". That same year, the Scandinavian Tuna Club was founded. Members came from Denmark, Sweden and Norway. Each year a tournament "Scandinavian Tuna Cup" was held. The tournament ran for two or three days. Teams from USA,Australia, South Africa and many European nations took part. At times approx. 100 boats participated.

The last tournament was held in 1954. No bluefin was caught during that competition. The years around 1950 were unforgettable for the members of the club. 300 to 400 tunnies were caught each year. Daily catches of 4-6 tuna on board one boat were made. In 1950 Danish angler Knud Kyvsgaard caught a tuna weighing 372 kg, which still holds the Scandinavian record for bluefin tuna. The bluefins visiting Öresund during August to October were huge fish swimming in small shoals. They exposed themselves when surface-hunting for garfish. When mackerel was on their menu they fed deeper. Most fish were hooked 4-6 meters below the surface and from drifting boats. Kite-fishing and trolling were other methods used, but did not pay off as well as driftfishing. People chummed with mackerel, garfish and herring."

Swedish sportfishing magazine (1946)


As you can see, these were quality fish, cold-water, herring and mackerel fat fish! The Norwegian giants were fairly well esteemed in Japan up until shipments ceased in the mid-eighties.

f/v Vagly - Norwegian Sea (1971)


There are no longer any landings of Bluefin from these waters today, and there has not been any significant harvest there for decades. These stocks, meta-populations of the East Atlantic Mediterranean spawning stock, swam these waters for at least one-hundred years. They are now possibly extinct, wiped out in much the same way that the Brazilian stock was eliminated by the Japanese long-line fleet during the early 1960's.

The data and quotes included in this post were taken from the following websites which chronicle the collapse of the North Atlantic Bluefin stock and the devastation of the northern European commercial and sport fisheries for the species:

Bluefin Tuna in Scandinavian Waters

Bluefin Tuna - Past and Present

The Norwegian Fishery for Atlantic Bluefin Tuna

Fishing Bluefin Tuna in Norway

Giant Bluefin Tuna in Norway

[Bud Man]

Heli. That is an excellent post with an incredible amount of resources added. I was not aware of the Scandinavian blue fin fishery and its collapse

[Patudo]

I hope and pray you are right HeliSports but fear that eastern Atlantic BFT will be fished to commercial extinction which could well be the same as actual extinction. You reference the Brazilian and North Sea/Norwegian populations of BFT which were effectively wiped out despite fishing effort significantly less than what seems to be deployed against them in the Med. I don't see how they will stop until the cost of producing tuna in the Med fishery becomes too expensive (as against other BFT producing regions). By which time god only knows what miniscule fraction of the stock will be left.