SciAm Perspectives: Fishing Blues; March 2008; Scientific American Magazine; by The Editors; 1 Page(s)

If there is any benefit to be salvaged from the disastrous overfishing of the bluefin tuna (see "The Bluefin in Peril," by Richard Ellis), it's the spotlight that it shines on the plundering of the world's marine life. It has been 16 years since the demand for cod led to the collapse of the once superabundant cod fisheries in the North Atlantic off Newfoundland. Disappearing with them were some 40,000 jobs. Seafood Watch, an online information clearinghouse run by the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California, has placed all Atlantic populations of flatfish, including flounder, halibut, plaice and sole, on a list of fishes that it urges consumers to avoid. The list goes on.

You cant entirely blame the fishers. Yes, a lot of pirates are out there, taking fish illegally, underreporting their catches, fishing under the flags of countries not party to international fishing agreements. But for many cultures, fishing is a way of life--and sadly, because of overfishing, a hard way to carry on. The lure of dollars--or euros or yen--becomes all but irresistible when the alternatives become ever more limited. As Ellis reports, a single bluefin tuna fetched $173,600 in Tokyo, and prices of a sushi dinner for two in New York City can reach $1,000.