Malta Boosts Tuna Ranches in Face of Extinction

Once operational, this new fish farm will increase the country’s total bluefin tuna farming capacity to 12,300 tonnes, making Malta the undisputed tuna ranching capital of the world, reports MaltaToday.

But, according to MaltaToday, the decision to increase tuna farming facilities comes at a time when international conservation agencies are battling to save the critically endangered marine predator from total stocks collapse – an irreversible situation, whereby the quantity of mature adults will be too low to replenish dwindling population figures.

WWF insists that unless serious action is taken to control and limit bluefin tuna fishing in the Mediterranean, the stocks will collapse by 2012.

Apart from setting the bluefin tuna on a direct collision course with extinction, the collapse of fish stocks would also spell an emphatic end to the entire Mediterranean tuna industry, affecting the livelihoods of tens of thousands of citizens across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.