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Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Population Decline

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There is a common conception that due to species richness within oceans, species population decline is a rarity. However, such decline may result in a damaged marine ecosystem. A top predator that plays a key role in the marine ecosystem is the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna, Thunnus thynnus. This species is a warm-blooded predator that is “highly migratory species that may reach a weight of 900 kg” (Ganzedo 2016). The Western, Northern Atlantic Bluefin Tuna migrates all through the Atlantic venturing primarily in the Gulf of Mexico for spawning during late spring, where “larvae are in preferred water temperature ranging from 20 degrees Celsius to 25 degree Celsius.” They then migrate back to the North West Atlantic for feeding where their average …show more content…
The economic value of this species was on a rise where one single fish was paid off for around $800,000. Such a high payment results in more fishermen eager to get a share of this profitable fish. Over the past six decades, there has been a drastic decline in the population of this species. Therefore alternative questions arises, is overfishing a factor directly responsible for the decline in the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna population; or is a larger scale external factor, global warming, the …show more content…
As carbon dioxide is being released “mostly because of human interaction”, a counter effect should occur in trying to help maintain the marine ecosystem, but that is not the case (Safina 1993). Scientists have found that the migration patterns of these fish have changed over the years. An experiment was conducted where data was received through tagging, using ultra sonic deep sensitive transmitters. Around 11 Atlantic Bluefin Tuna were tagged from the north west coast of the Atlantic, and their behavior was recorded for two consecutive years after fall 1995 (Ganzedo 2016).Several other behavior factors where analyzed in this experiment and the results were then recorded. The species dive pattern was also shown to change over the years and locations where the fish were seen on the top surface of the water were being seen less frequently. The diving depths of the individuals ranged from 22 meters to 215 meters, averaging at about 10-19 meters in dives taken in their natural times of dusk and dawn (Ravier 2004). Temperatures that this fish may withhold within those depths, reached as low as 4 degrees Celsius. Through this tagging, scientists have also found that these migratory fish tend to migrate in groups known as schools. However, over the years, the school sizes have been found to be overall decreasing. Being that the main reason for migration within this species is primarily for food and spawning,

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