SCIENTISTS PREDICT EXTINCTION FOR SOUTHERN BLUEFIN TUNA

Amsterdam - 9 September 1997

One of the world's largest and most sought-after fish will be extinct within a generation, Greenpeace said today.

The environmental organisation released a previously unpublished report by Australian Government scientists which predicts that if current fishing levels remain as they are, the southern bluefin tuna will probably be extinct within one generation.

"This is a dire warning from scientists who, if anything, have been overly optimistic with their predictions in the past", said Greenpeace Ocean coordinator Desley Mather. "Worse still, there is actually pressure to increase the size of the catch, despite an up to 98 per cent decline in southern bluefin tuna since the 1950's." Last year the World Conservation Union (IUCN) listed the southern bluefin tuna as Critically Endangered.

Taking account of the recent dramatic increase in unregulated catch, estimated to be as high as 5000 tonnes, the probability of extinction by 2020 rises to more than 50%.

This week talks began in Canberra as Australia, New Zealand and Japan meet to set fishing quotas for the 1998 southern bluefin tuna fishing season. The catch is currently set at 11,750 metric tons. Fishery managers are alarmed by the dramatic increase in the unregulated fishing for southern bluefin tuna by countries which are not members of the regional management body, the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT).

The southern bluefin tuna lives up to 40 years, can weigh as much as 200 kilogramms and measures up to two metres in length. Fishing fleets from countries which are not members of the CCSBT are increasing their catches of southern bluefin due to the high prices it fetches on the lucrative Japanese sashimi market. One large fish in excellent condition can fetch up to US$20,000. It is estimated that Taiwan, Indonesia and South Korea have doubled their catch of southern bluefin tuna in the last two years..

The northern bluefin tuna has suffered a similar fate. Once abundant in the Mediterranean, it is now thought to be facing extinction. The Spanish government has announced plans to create a protected area in an attempt to save it

"The report clearly shows that attempts to manage the stock have failed. Greenpeace is calling for a suspension of the fishery until stocks recover", said Mather.

---

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Greenpeace International press desk, Holger Roenitz at +31 20 5249 545

GreenpeaceIntl. oceans campaign Desley Mather/Matthew Gianni at +31 653 41 79 45

---