Southern bluefin tuna  (Thunnus maccoyii)

The southern bluefin tuna has been heavily exploited over the years and has been fished to the brink of extinction (5). During the 1960s, the annual catch was around 80,000 tonnes worldwide (4). The flesh of this species has a particularly high fat content and is prized in Japan especially for 'sashimi' markets (4), where an individual fish can fetch as much as US$ 10,000 (3). Fishing mainly takes the form of purse seine netting in Australia (5), and longline fishing in the other range states; namely New Zealand, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan and Indonesia (4).

In 1994, Australia, Japan and New Zealand signed the Convention for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna in an attempt to curb the overfishing of this species (4). The Commission for the Conservation of the Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT) has subsequently formed and in 2001, was joined by the Republic of Korea (4). The objective of the Commission is to ensure the conservation and optimum utilisation of the global southern bluefin tuna fishery, through management measures including reduced fishing quotas and research (4). Some scientists and conservationists are worried, however, that the Commission does not go far enough, and that global breeding stocks, having been reduced by as much as 97%, will require more drastic measures if they are ever to recover (5).