News Excerpt:

Recently, Marine biologists from the University of Southampton have developed a technique to decode otolith rings in Bluefin tuna species (fish).

Significant findings of the Study:

• Understanding the impacts of Rising temperature: According to the study, more heat means more of an animal’s body resources, like food and oxygen, are needed to fuel basic functions, like breathing and moving, leaving less energy for growth and reproduction. Rising temperatures, through their effects on metabolism, force species to adapt, move somewhere new or die.
• For Studying, Recovery and Mitigation strategy: Bluefin tuna spawn in both the western and eastern sides of the Atlantic. But these two spawning populations show different rates of recovery.
• Fish management policies have allowed bluefin tuna populations in the north Atlantic to recover, and shoals of bluefin are once again regular visitors to waters around the British Isles and northern Europe.

Conclusion:

Tuna fish are giving us a warning of the challenges that lie ahead for marine wildlife. In the last two years we have seen record average temperatures in the Mediterranean already approaching the 28°C threshold. We need a long-term solution to protect tuna.