Since 1950, bluefin tuna populations have declined as much as 90%. That puts tuna on a status equivalent to tigers, lions and pandas. The species was proposed for endangered species listing in 2010, but was rejected despite scientific research demonstrating this species is indeed endangered.
It can often be challenging to get people to feel the same amount of humanity for fish as they do for animals. Secondly, humans know very little about the oceans, and are only really starting to begin studying it. A sense of detachment is created because of how distant the ocean seems – we can see a watering hole on land, but not at sea.
For the first time we are able to monitor tuna and other apex predators with tracking chips. These tracking chips send data to satellites through light photons that allow the chips to track movement with sunlight. Thousands of tuna have been tagged and monitored, each tuna tracking data for up to five years. Now we are able to see patterns of where they congregate (mating?), feed, and travel between thermoclines.
On top of installing tracking chips on tuna, scientists have also begun to start taking mucus samples. This has allowed them to study blue fin tuna DNA, gene pools. This information proved that the North American Atlantic bluefin tuna and the European bluefin tuna, once thought to be separate gene pools, actually mate with one another.
TED Tagging Tuna
Tag a Giant
It can often be challenging to get people to feel the same amount of humanity for fish as they do for animals. Secondly, humans know very little about the oceans, and are only really starting to begin studying it. A sense of detachment is created because of how distant the ocean seems – we can see a watering hole on land, but not at sea.
For the first time we are able to monitor tuna and other apex predators with tracking chips. These tracking chips send data to satellites through light photons that allow the chips to track movement with sunlight. Thousands of tuna have been tagged and monitored, each tuna tracking data for up to five years. Now we are able to see patterns of where they congregate (mating?), feed, and travel between thermoclines.
On top of installing tracking chips on tuna, scientists have also begun to start taking mucus samples. This has allowed them to study blue fin tuna DNA, gene pools. This information proved that the North American Atlantic bluefin tuna and the European bluefin tuna, once thought to be separate gene pools, actually mate with one another.
TED Tagging Tuna
Tag a Giant
RSS Feed
