March 19, 2008

Farmed tuna possible in the next 10 years
 

The immensely popular Atlantic bluefin tuna is overfished and scientists are attempting to solve the problems by learning to breed and farm the fish.

Demand for bluefin sushi is so high that the tuna is expected to integrate into commercial aquaculture successfully.

"I think that about 10 years from now, we'll get bluefin tuna to breed via land-based hatcheries," said Yonathan Zohar, the director of the University of Maryland Center of Marine Biotechnology. "It's only a matter of time and resources," he added.

To successfully breed the fish, the first problem to overcome is bluefin behaviour; bluefin takes up to 12 years to reach breeding age and it is difficult for them to breed outside their natural habitat as they do not react well to cages and giant tanks.

It was found that a captive tuna's brains do not produce enough hormones that would push the fish into breeding. A EU project, which Zohar had a part in, used drug implants that mimics the gonadotropin-releasing hormone to get bluefin to produce fertilised eggs in captivity. This technique could make the bluefin to breed at a younger age, which will help to clear financial problems in bluefin farming.

Bluefin population in western Atlantic has plummeted by more than 90 percent since the 1970s, and the US fishermen caught less than 15 percent of their allowed catch last year.