Bluefin Tuna Fishing from a Canadian Perspective

[This is an excerpt from one of my papers, "To Fish or not to Fish: Bluefin Tuna Fishing from a Canadian Perspective".  To read the entire paper, click here.]

The Atlantic bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus, silver-blue in colour, separated from its surrounding abyss by shade only, is a magnificent specimen, an intricately mysterious predator that prowls the open seas.  It is a fantastically large and powerful fish, capable of growing to sizes more than 3 metres in length and 680 kilograms in weight.  Found throughout the Atlantic, the bluefin is widely distributed in both the western and eastern parts of the ocean.  In the west, they can be found as far south as the tropical waters off Brazil and as far north as the “polar waters off Newfoundland.”  The massive range of the bluefin certainly adds to its mystique, but, as with any common resource, it also increases it susceptibility to overexploitation.  Most commentators agree that Atlantic bluefin tuna stocks have decreased significantly in the last half-century or so, a problem exacerbated by the fish’s value: a single bluefin can sell for thousands, even hundreds of thousands of dollars.  The purpose of this paper is to figure out the extent of this decrease, and, consequently, to shed light on the reasonableness of policy options available to the government of Canada to mitigate this problem.

Currently, the Canadian government is approaching the issue of bluefin tuna fishing from two angles: domestic and international.  Domestically, the government is considering adding the bluefin to the list of species that is legally protected under the Species at Risk Act (SARA).  Internationally, the government has recently pushed to increase its fishing quota at the annual meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), an “inter-governmental fishery organization responsible for the conservation of tunas and tuna-like species in the Atlantic Ocean and its adjacent seas.”   Evidently, the government is trying to balance various interests: political, economic, and environmental.  This paper is meant to give the reader at least a basic understanding of these issues so that we can begin to see how these interests can be balanced.

First, I review the most recent scientific research regarding the stock levels of the Atlantic bluefin tuna.  Then, I exam the ICCAT agreement and the Commission’s current regulations, which in 2012 set the total allowable catch, or fishing quota, for western bluefin tuna at 1,750 tonnes.  By having an understanding of the scientific information available and the legal regime that currently governs tuna fishing, we should be able to see which policy options are, at least presently, more reasonable than others.  The last few sections discuss in some depth a few of the policy options available to the government of Canada, specifically: making an effort to increase our fishing quotas; looking at some non-quota regulations such as those pertaining to fishing gear; and protecting the bluefin under SARA.  By looking at the potential consequences of each of these actions, we will see that a prudent policy, one which takes into account environmental, economic, and political interests, at this point lies somewhere between two poles- between increasing quotas and a total ban on bluefin fishing.

[And here is an excerpt from the conclusion of the paper.]

I think there are at least some conclusions that we can draw from this study: first, that a conservative approach to quota management should be adopted in light of the scientific research on bluefin populations because this kind of approach may yield far greater returns in the future- in other words, the government of Canada should not try to lobby for increased fishing quotas or withdraw from ICCAT; second, that more attention should be paid to gear regulations and the development of new fishing technologies that can help prevent incidental catches, particularly in spawning and other areas where these kinds of catches may go unreported; third, that protecting bluefin under SARA unduly reduces economic benefits, in the sense that it forces the closure of the recreational fishing industry without necessarily providing an environmental benefit that is greater than the one that can be gained by eliminating only the commercial fishery - we can easily imagine a situation in which recreational fishing is allowed to continue with minimal adverse effects on the bluefin population.

That said, there is still a fair amount of latitude even between maintaining current commercial fishing quotas and reducing them, at least domestically, to a point close to or at zero- though, based on this analysis, I would personally lean towards the latter.  On the one hand, the government of Canada can adopt an if-they-don’t-reduce-quotas-neither-will-we stance and push to maximize present financial gains.  On the other hand, the government can try to take the lead by protecting the species, if only by reducing domestic fishing quotas, risking the possibility that the bluefin’s future is inevitably doomed by factors outside of Canada’s control.  It is a particularly difficult decision knowing that peoples’ livelihoods and ways of life, and indeed potentially the existence of an entire species, are all at stake.  The hope is that in the future, with technological advances, the SCRS will be able to obtain more accurate information regarding bluefin populations and, consequently, formulate effective quotas that will find a balance between financial and environmental gains.  Moreover, technological advances should also make it easier for governments to enforce the ICCAT regulations and reduce the number of illegal and unreported catches.  The goal, however, is to continually question and critically examine ICCAT recommendations so that we know that we are doing what is best for both Canadian citizens and the bluefin tuna.  For if we ignore the needs of the latter, we ultimately ignore the needs of the former.

Finally, we must remember that the depletion of the bluefin will result not only in the extinction of a species; it will result in the extinction of a romantic endeavour, a contest between man and nature that inspires in the former a greater appreciation of the latter.  For fishing is a pursuit that connects man to that which he believes he has conquered and, indeed, to his very origins, if only by the smallest of threads.  It is a proud pursuit, one that allows a man to assert dominion over his fellow beasts, to experience triumph, satisfaction, and, ultimately, if fortune favours him, it grants him permission to enter into the presence of the very elder gods.  But it is also a humbling pursuit, one that more often than not exposes the weakness of that little thread which symbolizes our power, our superiority, our hubris.  The extinction of the bluefin tuna will deprive man of the chance to experience specific manifestations of pride, humility, happiness and dejection, the likes of which are born only of an arduous and painful struggle with a being that surpasses us in both majesty and power.

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