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Protecting the Nursery of the Seas

You've done it a thousand times--cracked open a tuna can or tucked into a tuna sandwich. But behind this simple act lies the fate of one of the most amazing, valuable and least understood oceanic fishes.

by Paolo Mangahas, September 12, 2012
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WWF Illustrates Tuna Fishing Problem in the Coral Triangle through Animation

Coral Triangle – WWF has developed a visually engaging animation clip depicting the problem of juvenile tuna fishing—one of the many issues plaguing tuna fisheries in the Coral Triangle region.

Protecting the Nursery of the Seas [http://youtu.be/PKCQZVjT-p0], a 3-minute animated video, clearly outlines the difficult plight of local fishers in the Coral Triangle, why they resort to fishing juvenile tuna species, and how the benefits of tuna fishing—a multi-million dollar global fishing industry—should be channeled back to the Coral Triangle to protect this valuable nursery of the seas.

“Millions of people around the world enjoy eating tuna everyday yet not many of them put much thought into how this fish ends up on their plate. This video will hopefully inform and educate consumers on the important issues surrounding their favorite seafood,” says Dr. Jose Ingles, WWF Coral Triangle Global Initiative Tuna Strategy Leader.

The Coral Triangle, a 6 million square kilometer ocean expanse covering the seas of six countries in Asia and the Pacific, is the world’s tuna factory—a tuna nursery ground and migratory pathway for some of the world’s most commercially-valuable tuna species, including Yellowfin, Bigeye, and Skipjack tunas.

The Coral Triangle produces almost 30 per cent of the total global tuna catch, contributing as much as 35 per cent to the total tuna catch coming from the Western Central Pacific Ocean (which accounts for more than half the world’s tuna production).

However, little benefits are channeled back to the Coral Triangle for better regulation and management of tuna spawning and nursery grounds and juvenile populations, threatening already dwindling tuna fish stocks in the ocean today.

“A more equitable distribution of tuna benefits to help protect this nursery of the seas urgently needs to happen if we are to ensure the sustainability of this valuable resource to meet present and future demands on tuna,” adds Dr. Ingles.

Watch this short and informative video on http://youtu.be/PKCQZVjT-p0 and share it around. For more information on WWF’s tuna work in the Coral Triangle, visit www.panda.org/coraltriangle/tuna.

Keywords:
conservation
featured
fishing
marine life
threats
video