Scott Kay Artiste Helzberg

The reproductive potential Bluefin has been reduced by 50%

potential breeding bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic has decreased by 50% in the last 40 years, according to a study by the International Union for Conservation of Nature ( IUCN), which determines that intensive overfishing is the main reason for this situation.

The organization has updated its "Red List" of endangered species in the Mediterranean and has shown a "special concern" the situation of bluefin tuna. The coordinator of Marine Species Assessment, IUCN, Kent Carpenter, pointed out that the status of this species is the result of two problems. The first is the "lack of compliance with existing quotas" combined with "widespread underreporting of the catch."

Bluefin addition, this list of threatened species is formed by 39 other types of marine fish, according to environmentalists, "could disappear within the next few years" and noted that at least 12 species of bony fish "are in danger of extinction due to degradation of overfishing, habitat and marine pollution."

Thus, the Dark Grouper (Epinephelus marginatus), seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) and hake (Merluccius merluccius) are considered "threatened or near threatened with extinction at the regional level, mainly due to overfishing.

Thus IUCN noted that the use of fishing gear such as fishing lines, gill nets or trawling and illegal use of drift nets, means that hundreds of marine animals of no commercial value are captured, and are a threat to populations of many species of sharks, rays and other fish and other marine animals like dolphins, whales, turtles and birds.

"The use of trawl nets is one of the main problems for the conservation and sustainability of many marine species because it is a selective technique that captures only the white fish, but also a large number of other species , while destroying the sea bottom, where fish live, breed and feed, "said Carpenter.

Finally, the study emphasizes the need to strengthen the fishing regulations, creating new marine reserves, reduce pollution quotas and review of fisheries, in particular, the number of catches allowed for threatened species .

Track: Europa Press