Bluefin tuna report tipped to show devastating stock loss

Updated October 23, 2009 09:24:14

A new report on the fate of the southern bluefin tuna - a huge catch for Australian and Pacific fishermen and the crucial fish diet in Japan - is to be tabled today that will show that this vital tuna stock is near total collapse. The Commission for the Conservation of Bluefin Tuna is to hold its annual meeting in South Korea today, and the scientific report revealing the dire state of stocks of this highly-prized fish will be presented to the Commission.

Presenter: Ticky Fullerton
Speaker: Stephen McDonell, China correspondent on Jeju Island, South Korea

TICKY FULLERTON: Stephen McDonell, I understand that everything in this meeting hangs on confidential scientific report on tuna stock levels. Do we know anything more?

STEPHEN MCDONELL: Well that's right, all of the nations that fish the southern bluefin tuna have come here to Jeju Island to look at, basically the health of this fish and to decide how much of it can be caught. And they're basing their decision on a secret report. Now, we understand that this report - which was commissioned by the body which was responsible for making the decision on how much will be fished across the world - that this report says that alarmingly, the spawning stock could be as low as 5 per cent of pre-fishing levels. Now according to some scientists that would place this fish in the endangered category, possibly a level at which it might not even return from.

TICKY FULLERTON: But only last year the stock levels were at 10 per cent, so that's a halving in year.

STEPHEN MCDONELL: That's right, it's a massive reduction. So if we can believe this committee of scientists, there's been a massive reduction is southern bluefin tuna, effectively a 50 per cent reduction.

TICKY FULLERTON: If this is true, what action do you think might be taken by the commission on the total amount caught?

STEPHEN MCDONELL: Well the meeting that is going on is all behind closed doors, so we don't exactly know what is going to come of this. But what we've heard is that they're discussing a 50 per cent reduction, so that means at the moment there's 12,000 tonnes of southern bluefin tuna which are taken, this would be reduced to 6000 tonnes.

TICKY FULLERTON: And if their total catch was halved, what does that mean for the Australian fishing industry?

STEPHEN MCDONELL: Well, if it is applied across the board, it means a 50 per cent cut in the catch of what is a hundreds of million dollar industry in Australia. It's going to have a huge impact on what's probably our most significant fishing export industry. So there'll be great concern at this. Mind you, there will also be great concern that if nothing's done about this, that we'll lose this very valuable fish stock in the future. So I suppose that even amongst the fishing communities there is an acknowledgement that if the level is as low as the scientists say it is, something's got to be done.