Two tunas and a tale of managed extinction

Are international groups that manage declining tuna populations doing too good a job? Two guests on our show this week illustrate how these managers aren't aiming for sustainability, but rather enable maximum extraction of the 'tuna resource' that graces peoples' dinner plates.

Author Jennifer Telesca calls the Atlantic bluefin tuna program one of 'managed extinction' while Mongabay staff writer Malavika Vayawahare discusses how the European Union controls the Indian Ocean yellowfin tuna fishery to such a degree that developing nations like the Seychelles that actually border those waters enjoy too little benefit from the fish's formerly extensive population.

Telesca's book "Red Gold: The Managed Extinction of the Giant Bluefin Tuna" was published in 2020 and Vayawahare's two April articles for Mongabay elicited strong support from the nation of The Seychelles and a stern riposte from the EU:

• Red flag: Predatory European ships help push Indian Ocean tuna to the brink
• European tuna boats dump fishing debris in Seychelles waters ‘with impunity’

Are the allegations of a “neo-colonial” plunder of developing nations' resources  accurate? Should a small number of highly profitable industrial fishing companies be allowed to hunt iconic wildlife like bluefin tuna to extinction? 

Listen and let us know your thoughts, submissions@mongabay.com

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Episode artwork: Atlantic bluefin tuna, courtesy of NOAA