In Japan, scientists are working
to develop the farming of bluefin tuna on a huge industrial scale in the hopes
of eliminating fishing boats catching wild tuna.. Since 2011, a tuna
aquaculture research centre has been holding over eighty fish in large pools
where scientists have been studying ways of successfully breeding bluefin tuna
to sell to a large number of consumers. Japan regards this fish as their most
treasured type of tuna, using it for sushi and sashimi. It is therefore of the
utmost importance for them to ensure a sustainable way of farming the tuna,
especially after The Convention of International Trade announced its concerns
of the possibility of the bluefin tuna becoming an endangered species. However,
it is a concern of whether or not the study will be completely successful.
Scientists do not know for sure if the fish will significantly reproduce.
However, with the help of ‘high-technology methods’, it is believed that the
survival rate of the fish will increase and the tuna should start laying eggs
around June in 2015.
The Arctic Ocean is under invasion.
As routes through the Northeast and Northwest Passage become more and more
accessible to large ships, foreign species are being dumped into the sea
resulting in sufficient damage to local fisheries. ‘Stowaways’ arrive on the
outside of ships as biofouling, the accumulation of organisms on wetted
surfaces, or by the water from the ballast tanks. There is growing concern that
the newly introduced species will be able to establish themselves considerably
as global warming continues to heat the sea’s temperatures. At the moment the
water is too cold for the harmful species to fully settle, but by 2100 the
number of stowaways in the Arctic Ocean will have multiplied by at least six.
These harmful species could result in completely dominating those native to this
area, which could greatly affect future fish stocks.
Aquaponics, the combination of
fish farming and hydroponics, is becoming increasingly more popular as people
begin to realize the fact that our world’s natural resources are running out.
This is a sustainable, natural way of growing agriculture without the aid of
chemicals of any kind. Microorganisms alter fish waste to make a nutrient for
vegetation such as tomato and cucumber plants to feed on. Going that one step
further, the water is then cleaned and recycled into the fish habitats. With
increasing worry over the unlikely sustainability of ocean fisheries, the
dangers of pesticides and genetically modified organisms, aquaponics, while it
is not yet available on a wide scale, is encouraging businesses and hobbyists
to experiment try this new, ‘clean’ technology.
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| Large open water fish, like this Northern bluefin tuna, are oily fish. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
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