This century’s end may see a devastation of a sea-life stock! These are the Pacific’s bluefin tuna stocks, researchers are fearing, would be hit seriously if global warming progresses at the current pace.
Already hit hard by over-fishing, the tuna population could face a further blow with the seawater temperatures rising above the level, suitable for the growth of the fish, Shingo Kimura, a University of Tokyo professor of marine environmental science and his team warns.
Though the Pacific’s bluefin tuna migrates over a wide range from east to west during their growing period, their breeding ground is limited to a comparatively smaller area — spanning from eastern Taiwan to areas around Amami Oshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture. But, Kimura’s group found that most tuna are likely to die in seawater temperatures close to 30 C.
According to the study,
While 26 C, near the average temperature in the tuna’s spawning ground, is best suited for their growth, their survivability remains unchanged even if temperatures drop as much as 6 degrees from 26 C.
By 2099, global warming will affect the tuna’s breeding ground’s seawater temperatures to the extent that would lead to reducing its breeding ground area and the number of surviving young tuna to 37 per cent of the existing level.