Inertia is speeding fish-stock declines

摘要

A bluefin tuna weighing 222 kilograms sold for ￥155 million (US$1.7 million) in Tokyo last month. This is an all-time record price for a single fish, driven skywards by increasing demand and dwindling supply. Populations of bluefin tuna (Thunnus spp.) are a fraction of what they were 50 years ago (see, for example, go.nature. com/5advqj), in large part because of the increasing value of the high-end sushi and sashimi market. Individuals are caught long before they reach full size (around 650 kg).