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The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) in Turkey agreed to replace a paper system with an electronic one for tracking catches of bluefin tuna. The Commission hopes that the updated system will cut down on illegal fishing of bluefin, which has been a big problem in the Mediterranean. The Pew Environmental Group reported that 140 percent more Mediterranean bluefin tuna entered the market than was declared last year, a problem they blame partly on the previous paper-tracking system's susceptibility to abuse.
Also in the news this week was a report in Science magazine that archeologists had found remains of fish bones, which include tuna, that date back 42,000 years in East Timor. What's especially important about the discovery is that it is the first evidence of the sophisticated maritime skills that are required to catch tuna, which are both fast-moving and live in deep water.
Fish hooks 11,000 years old have also been found in East Timor. While not the oldest ever found (other hooks have been found that date back 16,000 and 23,000 years), these are the most intact and show that ancient fishermen used the classic bait-and-hook method, which at that time must have been on the cutting edge.
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