Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Overfished
Fishing Industry Conjures Tragedy of the Commons Sentiments
As fishing economies try to stay afloat, environmental theory that Garret Hardin popularized reminds the conscientious that the Tragedy of the Commons rises in severity all the way to high tide.
In short, The Tragedy of the Commons occurs when individuals act self-interestedly to obtain a natural resource not realizing the possible consequences; ultimately the practice destroys finite resources.
The Involved I.C.C.A.T.
Forty-two years ago, the International Commission for the Atlantic Tunas (I.C.C.A.T.) began managing fisheries to prevent an exhausted ocean, where overfishing kills off entire species.
But at the 20th Regular Meeting on November 9th through the 18th, 2008, European governments overlooked a strong suggestion from the I.C.C.A.T.’s science advisers to cut back severely in some harvests of the Atlantic Bluefin tuna.
Population Problem with the Bluefin
The I.C.C.A.T.’s website proclaims, “Science underpins the management decisions”.
Recent research on the Atlantic Bluefin tuna prompts concern for future fish generations as the research commission learned that fish in the Mediterranean mature at 4-5 years of age where they are believed to mature at 8 years in the Gulf of Mexico.
In conjunction with reproductive biology, demographic modeling, and age determination research, the Standing Committee on Research and Statistics of the International Commission for the Atlantic Tunas report in 2007 by Dr. G.P. Scott said that, “...western Bluefin tuna may be less resilient to fishing than previously thought”.
The report also declares how the United States has sailed the other direction by under-catching since 2004 possibly because availability was low. The overall population of western Atlantic Bluefin declined substantially since recent years.
The East and West Bluefin Effect
But another reason for the extremely low Bluefin populations may be connected to European overfishing. Andrew C. Revkin, New York Times reporter writes, “Biologists and American fisheries officials blamed European governments for failing to shrink the huge fleets of boats from France (771), Italy (619), Spain (441), England (331) and elsewhere that are acknowledged, even by Europe, to be too large for the fishery.”
The International Commission’s report notes that western Atlantic Bluefin fisheries are linked to eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean stock. Management of the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Bluefin are likely to impact the recovery in the western Atlantic, because even small rates of mixing from East to West can have significant effects on the West due to the fact that Eastern plus Mediterranean resource is much larger than that of the West.
Preventing a Hardin’s Prophesy
In a world searching to maintain finite shared natural resources, avoiding the debacle of the Tragedy of the Commons, but still balancing fish harvesting to spur economic growth, both European fisheries and American fisheries in the Atlantic need to communicate and work interdependently.
But amidst the American and European fishing agencies is the fight for tuna with the worldwide sushi trade.
In Dr. G.P. Scott's Report of the Standing Committee on Research and Statistics in 2007, Carl Safina, founder of Blue Ocean Institutes says, “The Western stock is going extinct while everyone complains about the east. The problem is overfishing in both places.” Other factors of possible extinction come into play with commercial and recreational fishing industry lobbying, along with fishing in the spawning areas of Atlantic Bluefin.
Both sides of the Atlantic have never fully followed the I.C.C.A.T., and despite any recommendations to reduce quotas the only true resolution to possible endangerment and extinction of the Atlantic Bluefin tuna is a moratorium. Thus, allowing populations to multiply and mature without the constant struggle against harvesting.
With Garrett Hardin’s prophetic theory of the Tragedy of the Commons beckoning, it seems urgent to take necessary precautions to stabilize a marine species that is under populated because of irresponsibility.
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