Tuna, the Most Valuable Fish, Lands on the Red List
The ugly but delicious tuna. Credit: SONNY TUMBELAKA, Getty Images
At least I still have my tuna sashimi, right?
Sadly, no. Bluefin tuna, a.k.a. the amazingly tasty dark pink flesh you get at fine sushi restaurants, is one of the most badass looking fish in the sea. However, scary looking as they are, these bad boys are just as vulnerable to mankind's excess as the rest of the animal kingdom. And now they're on the red list, too.
While some varieties of tuna are reasonably well managed, including the ones used for canned tuna, bluefin tuna has been terribly overfished, to the point of near extinction. Compounding the problem, as bluefin becomes more scarce and expensive, tuna lovers are turning to bigeye and yellowfin tuna stocks and some fear that these varieties will be the next to succumb to ... the red list.
I'm really starting to hate the red list.
Taste aside, tuna is one of the most financially important fish in the sea. According to the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), more than $6 billion tuna product is exported each year, "making it the third most traded marine commodity after shrimp and groundfish."
To address the issue of overfishing, the WWF joined forces with eight tuna companies to established International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF). This global partnership is dedicated to conserving tuna, and the corresponding good health of the ocean, using science-based methods.
Let's hope they have some success, because for some of us "spicy edamame" rolls will never quite hit the spot.
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