Strange stock assessment of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna

Date: Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:03:22 +0900
I heard the FAO Ad Hoc Meeting for CITES issues. The eastern stock of Atlantic Bluefin tuna was 1-12 million tons before commercial fisheries era (WW II, B0), and it was estimated to be 0.3 million tons in 1970 (B1970).
The cumulative catch of the eastern stock from 1950-1970 is 0.5 million tons. If these are true, the reduction of stock abundance is much larger than the cumulative
catch. Or, the reduction rate from B0 to the present abundance (used for CITES criterion for Appendix I) is artificial.