Failing Fish ----Advertisement---- ----Advertisement---- HOME Failing Fish NEWS COMMENTARY News: A sampling of creatures at serious risk of disappearing from our oceans and our dinner plates ARTS MOJOBLOG Illustrations by Jack Unruh RADIO CUSTOMER March/April 2006 Issue SERVICE DONATE STORE ABOUT US NEWSLETTERS SUBSCRIBE ADVERTISE Bluefin Tuna Warm-blooded bluefins, which can weigh 1,500 punds, are one of the largest bony fish swimming the seas. The Atlantic bluefin population has fallen by more than 80 percent since the 1970s; Pacific stocks are also dwindling. Advanced Search Browse Back Issues http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2006/03/failing_fish.html (1 of 4)2/23/2006 1:30:09 PM Failing Fish Read the Current Issue BUY THIS ISSUE SUBSCRIBE NOW Blue Crab Since Chesapeake Bay harvests are half of what they were a decade ago, at least 70 percent of crabmeat CRAZY PRICE! products sold in the United States now contain foreign crabs. 1 year just $10 Click Here Sundays on Air America Radio THIS WEEK The roots of the Eastern Oyster conflict over the Ships in the Chesapeake Bay once had to steer around massive oyster reefs. Poor water quality, exotic Danish Mohammed parasites, and habitat destruction have reduced the Chesapeake oyster stock to 1 percent of its historic level. cartoons, Clinton's economic advisor on Bush's troubles, and Iraq war veterans running for office as Democrats..... Learn More... Blue Marlin Since longlines replaced harpoons in the early 1960s, the Atlantic blue marlin has been driven toward extinction. A quarter of all blue marlin snared by longlines are dead by the time they reach the boat. http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2006/03/failing_fish.html (2 of 4)2/23/2006 1:30:09 PM Failing Fish Learn about Atlantic Swordfish subscriber content Another victim of long-lining, swordfish can grow to 1,000 pounds. But by 1995, the average fish landed weighed only 90 pounds, and most were killed before they could spawn. Better management has led to something of a rebound. White Abalone Slow-moving bottom dwellers, abalone rely on proximity to spawn. As over-harvesting led to density losses, the abalone population declined by 99 percent. By 2004, only some 6,000 were thought to exist. Atlantic Halibut Taking 10 years to mature, halibut are vulnerable to overfishing. Even though restrictions have been in place for decades, the halibut population is still less than 10 percent of what it was in the 1950s. Atlantic Cod Until the 1950s, cod was among the most plentiful fish on the eastern seaboard, but overfishing following the collapse of the halibut fishery has caused stocks to dwindle by 90 percent. http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2006/03/failing_fish.html (3 of 4)2/23/2006 1:30:09 PM.