TUNA AND TREES - A REFLECTION ON A LONG-TERM PERSPECTIVE FOR TUNA FISHING AROUND FLOATING LOGS

A significant portion of tuna catches is taken in the vicinity of floa ting objects like large pieces of floating wood. Recently, there has b een a strong pressure to abandon another mode of fishing tuna in the e astern Pacific that is associated with dolphins because of social conc erns. This pressure may lead to an increased reliance of fishermen on fishing around floating wood. Most such timber comes from watersheds c ontaining tropical forests. Deforestation in the vicinity of water cou rses will eventually lead to a gradual decrease in the influx of natur al timber to oceans. The considerations raised in this note are prelim inary and speculative to stimulate discussion and further research rat her than to make any definitive judgements or conclusions.