The rapid expansion of Atlantic bluefin tunafarming
risks threatening the population of one of the ocean’s
giants, whilst also causing animal suffering and
biodiversity loss, as well as weakening global food
security, anew report released today (25 August) by
Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) reveals.
Captured
live at a crucial point in their reproductive season, wild
Atlantic bluefin tuna are dragged in large nets to farms
where they are fattened and confined in sea cages. This puts
unique pressure on wild populations. Their need to swim
continuously just to breathe – over long distances in the
wild – also causes them exceptional distress in
confinement.
The NGO’s research reveals an industry
‘boom’, as the number of licensed Atlantic bluefin tuna
farms has risen from 13 farms in 2006, to 123 in 2024. As a
result, the number of farmed tuna has rocketed 19-fold from
up to 55,000, to up to one million per year.
The
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) first
sounded the alarm on the species in 2011, classifying it as
endangered. While populations are recovering, CIWF warns
that the conditions that led to the species becoming
endangered could be back. The situation is most alarming in
the Mediterranean, where regional populations have not been
assessed by the IUCN for 17 years, making an update urgently
needed.
Thereportalsofinds
thatonefarmed tuna producing just 200kg of meat
couldconsume up to 3,000kg of wild-caught fish – the
equivalent of up to 33,000 sardines,or 166,000 anchovies.
Beyondthe sustainabilityconcerns of feeding
carnivorous species in farms, this system threatens marine
life andvulnerable, low-income coastal communitiesin
Sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa, who dependon these
smaller feed fish for food and livelihoods.
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Rather
than improving food security, this industry weakens it, due
to its colossal use of human edible fish as feed and it
primarily being used to meet demand for luxury sushi and
sashimi, mainly in Japan, the report finds. Atlantic bluefin
tuna is not to be confused with the skipjack and yellowfin
species, which are commonly canned.
New footage
also released today by the NGO reveals what it
describes as appalling welfare conditions in a Mediterranean
tuna farm. It shows the animals in close confinement,
constantly swimming around cages, and suffering from skin
erosion, fin injuries, and eye loss. This reinforces the
strong scientific evidence that the animal welfare impacts
are severe, and the species is totally unsuitable for
farming, the NGO says.
Dr Elena Lara, Senior Research
and Policy Advisor at CIWF and report author,
said:
“Atlantic bluefin tuna areincredible
underwater giants. In the wild, they can swim 260 kilometres
every day – so it is completely cruel and unnatural to
confine them in sea cages.
“This destructive
and unsustainable industry takes wild tuna from our oceans
to fatten them on huge quantities of wild-caught fish –
mainly to supply luxury sushi and sashimi
markets.
“For too long, governments have failed
to regulate a sector which is driving environmental harm and
severe animal suffering. They must act now to stop tuna
farming and commit to keeping tuna wild.
“So
soon after the species recovered from endangered status, we
cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of the
past.“
The report also reveals how a lack of
reliable data on Atlantic bluefin tuna catches, aquaculture
production, and trade,is obscuring the true
scaleofthe industry’s expansion, and that more than
€64 million in public subsidies has supported tuna farming
over recent decades.
Compassion in World Farming
iscalling foran immediate, international moratorium on
new or expanded ABFT farms,an urgent assessment of the
species’conservation status,improvements to industry
transparency and monitoring, and animal welfare assessments
to be required before new farm permits are granted. They are
also calling for subsidies to beredirected to sustainable
low-trophic
aquaculture.
Notes:
- “Atlantic Bluefin
Tuna: Caught, Caged, and Under Threat” is published
today by Compassion in World Farming. It is available to
read [here]. - Compassion
in World Farming was founded in 1967 by a British dairy
farmer who became horrified at the development of intensive
factory farming. Today Compassion is the leading farm animal
welfare organisation dedicated to ending factory farming and
achieving humane and sustainable food production. With
headquarters in the UK, we have offices across Europe, in
the US, China and South
Africa.
