A 466-pound bluefin tuna sold at Tokyo's famous Tsukiji market recently for over $600,000!
Selling for $632,000 at 466-pounds means the big fish breaks down to $1,300 a pound! Talk about sticker shock.
Speaking of sticker shock, most of us complain at when the freezer is out of fish, and we pay 15 dollars per pound.
Surprisingly, that's not the record bluefin tuna price. It's reported that in 2013, one sold for $1.76 million.
However, according to NPR, the price isn't what concerns environmental organizations. They want to the public to know that about the rapid population decline of bluefin tuna.
In July, Pew called for a two-year moratorium on commercial fishing of Pacific bluefin tuna, citing a more than 97 percent drop in population from historic levels.
Conservationists argue part of the problem is that when fisheries catch Pacific bluefin tuna, they're mostly catching juveniles who have not yet reached the age of reproduction.
With that said, the problem isn't rooted here in the United States. NPR reports that Japan consumes 80 percent of the global bluefin catch. Additionally, only two percent of global bluefin tuna harvest comes from American fishermen.
Therefore, a US endangered species listing would do little to nothing to impact global populations. That's why Pew has called for a worldwide moratorium.
That begs the question, is commercial fishing doomed to go the way of commercial big game hunting? Only time will tell.
About the Author: Dominic Aiello is an avid hunter, angler, and wildlife policy expert. He is the President of the Oregon Outdoor Council, Cabela's Prostaff, and Outdoor Writer. Follow his adventures on Instagram @daiello91 or Twitter @HunterInformant.
https://rumble.com/embed/u7gve.v3tsf1/
NEXT: FISHERMEN WILL DO CRAZY THINGS TO CATCH FISH, AS SHOWN BY THIS LURE
