EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Where have all the tuna gone?

School of tuna.

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The fishery for bluefin tuna is one of the most valuable in the Mediterranean. In ancient Rome, tuna fishing and salting were two of the empire's most stable industries. Today, however, virtually all bluefin tuna from the Mediterranean are exported to Japan and the fish stocks themselves are anything but stable. The threats to the bluefin tuna are driven by over fishing, tuna ranching and the high market demand for one of the most valuable species of tuna worldwide. The facts are sobering. In short, the commercial extinction of bluefin tuna from the Mediterranean Sea is just around the corner.

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