NOAA Fisheries Adjusts Atlantic Bluefin Tuna General Category January-March 2021 Subquota to 49 mt through Quota Transfer; Default One-fish Limit Will Apply.

Overfishing. Bluefin tuna populations have declined severely from overfishing and illegal fishing over the past few decades –not just Atlantic bluefin tuna, but also Pacific bluefin tuna and Southern bluefin tuna. Population declines have been largely driven by the demand for this fish in high end sushi markets.

Under the international Atlantic Tunas Convention Act, it is illegal to catch Western Atlantic bluefin by methods other than rod and reel, hand-line or harpoon, NOAA says. According to NOAA, Atlantic bluefin tuna need to be carefully managed because they are extremely valuable and thus vulnerable to overfishing.

Commercially, tuna have historically equated to big money. Locally, fresh, top quality bluefin can cost anywhere from $20 to $40 per pound at fine fish markets.

How much is a 1000 lb tuna worth? The Chinese news service Xinghua in March put the average price of bluefin tuna in Japan around $10,000 for a single fish. That’s a lot, even for a fish that can weight more than 1,000 pounds. But Kimura paid 70 times than that more for his New Year’s delicacy: $1,238-per-pound.

Limited supply and exporting costs drive up the price One factor that makes bluefin tuna so expensive is the law of supply and demand, or as The Atlantic cleverly describes it — “sushinomics.” To put it bluntly, there’s only so much bluefin tuna in the ocean.

three fish

By law, all commercially caught bluefin tuna can only be sold to licensed fish dealers. This market is regulated by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) or NOAA Fisheries. Those holding a commercial Caribbean small boat permit are not allowed to catch Atlantic bluefin tuna.

bluefin tuna

In 2018, the Wicked Tuna cast sat down to discuss their biggest tuna catches to date. Brad Krakowski’s biggest catch weighed in at 920 pounds, while Dave Marciano’s fish clocked in at 1,200 pounds and 118 inches.

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Although these stings are often innocuous, severe tissue necrosis may occur. The hand is the most common site of catfish stings. Two cases of catfish stings of the hand are presented. In one of these cases gangrene of the long and small fingers developed requiring amputation.