Tuna’s End

The decline in fish stocks beneath the ocean’s surface is not readily apparent. Paul Greenberg describes the Atlantic bluefin’s beauty, power and rapid decline in this New York Times article. “Overzealous globalization,” suggests one expert, contributed to a transformation of tuna sushi – from local, seasonable delicacy to unsustainable mass craving. Today, Japan eats 80 percent of the world's Atlantic bluefin, most caught or ranched by Europeans and North Africans. About half the fish eaten by humans is farmed. By carefully selecting among species for fish farming – and Greenberg contends that bluefin is an unwise choice – producers and consumers can boost ocean productivity, maintaining balance between wild and farmed fish. Greenberg contends that tuna’s treatment symbolizes the human relationship with the ocean and its wildlife; humans can choose to “zoom past on our way toward annihilating the wild ocean” or stop and “radically reconsider” the targets for our voracious appetites. – YaleGlobal