Scientific American Magazine: The Bluefin in Peril

ll tuna are not alike. The canned tuna fish in s&wiches & salads comes from either skipjack, a meter-long species that is caught in prodigious quantities around the world & served as “light meat tuna,” or albacore, another small fish that is marketed as “white meat tuna.” The yellowfin & the bigeye tuna are larger species that are also heavily fished, but neither makes for particularly wonderful sushi, & they are usually served grilled. But the bluefin tuna, a giant among fishes, is the premier choice for sushi & sashimi & has become the most desirable food fish in the world. As such, it has vaulted to the top of another, more insidious list: it is probably the most endangered of all large fish species. Heedless overfishing is steadily pushing the bluefin toward extinction, & the species may soon disappear unless entrepreneurial fish farmers can learn how to breed the tuna in captivity.