O peixe mais valioso do mundo

A pressão fez com que a Comissão Europeia apoiasse a proibição do comércio internacional do atum-rabilho no Atlântico Norte e Mediterrâneo. A Comissão pede que o atum-rabilho seja classificado como uma espécie ameaçada nos termos da Convenção do Comércio Internacional de Espécies Ameaçadas de Extinção. Falta agora a decisão de todos os estados membros.
Se não forem tomadas medidas, há o perigo de esta espécie ter sérios problemas, ao ponto de se falar na sua extinção daqui a uns anos.

Mas deixo um pouco da história que explica a questão à volta desta polémica do atum-rabilho, também conhecido por bluefin tuna:

The numbers are mortifying. For years, the quantity of bluefin landed yearly has hovered between double and triple the legally allowable catch. It’s bad enough that ICCAT (The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas) seems unable or unwilling to rein in illegal fishing; the commission also appears unwilling to pay its own scientists any mind.

Two years ago, when ICCAT’s own scientists recommended a 15,000-ton quota, the commission set it at 29,500, nearly double. Actual catches reached 61,000 tons. That’s quadruple what fishery scientists had initially recommended. This year, the quota is set at 22,500 tons, still high, but an improvement. (Scientists had recommended 7500 tons to avoid stock collapse.)

At this point, ICCAT is well aware of its failures. Last year, an independent review, conducted at its own behest, labeled the organization an “international disgrace” and “a travesty in fisheries management.”

But still, you have to wonder: How does this happen? You can blame the usual political jockeying — lobbying by fishermen worried about losing jobs, and more lobbying by boat owners eager to recoup their considerable investments.

But basically, the driving force is an irresistibly attractive market price.

The majority — 80 to 90 percent — of the world’s bluefin is consumed in Japan. In Tokyo, a single 444 lb fish once fetched $175,000 at auction. Bluefin has become one of the most valuable foods in the world. And it’s making people rich. In the Mediterranean, once humble fishermen now own seaside villas. Port Lincoln, Australia, where tuna ranching was pioneered, now has the greatest concentration of millionaires in the southern hemisphere. (Tuna ranching means catching tuna and fattening them up in sea pens, thereby boosting profits.)