Researchers To Breed ‘Super-Tuna’ Within A Decade

Scientists in Japan say they will breed a new "super-tuna" in the next ten years that will be stronger, more resistant to disease and taste better than the bluefin presently in the oceans, The Telegraph reported.

Stocks of bluefin are currently in a global decline, but the scientists say the new super-tuna would be farm-raised to meet surging demand around the world for the traditional Japanese delicacy.

University researchers are working closely with Japan’s Fisheries Research Agency to complete the genome sequence of the bluefin tuna and unravel the secrets of the chemical building blocks of the fish.

They hope to be able to start a breeding program next year.

Dr. Kazumasa Ikuta, director of research at the Yokohama-based Fisheries Research Agency, said they have already completed two computer sequencing runs and have around 60 percent of the tuna genome.

He said they expect to have the entire sequence in the next couple of months, in which they will use the sequence to establish a breeding program for bluefin tuna, since most aquaculture farmers presently use wild juveniles.

“We want to establish a complete aquaculture system that will produce fish that have good strength, are resistant to disease, grow quickly and taste delicious,” he added.

The World Wildlife Fund has warned that the Atlantic bluefin, which has seen as much as 90 percent of stocks depleted in some waters, will have been wiped out within three years unless radical measures are taken.

Celebrity activists including Sting, Jemima Khan and Elle Macpherson signed a letter in June to Japanese chef Nobu, operator of the upmarket restaurant that is part-owned by Robert De Niro, vowing to boycott the chain.

Actor Stephen Fry said it is “astounding lunacy” to serve up endangered species for sushi and added there was no justification for peddling extinction, “yet that is exactly what Nobu is doing in restaurants around the world”.

The Spanish city of San Sebastian is presently holding discussions on how to protect tuna species, with environmental groups demanding tougher quotas and the European Union proposing to reduce the number of tuna catching ships.

With a global annual catch of tuna that borders around 4.5 million tons, experts say 9 of the 23 tuna species are officially listed as under threat from overfishing.