Tuna are carnivorous predators, and reside pretty much at the top of the oceanic food chain. As such they play an important role in trophic systems. Increasingly, research is showing when we take out top predators (sharks, billfish, tuna etc), their prey proliferate causing large environmental imbalances. It is thought that the massive jellyfish plague occurring in Japan is a result of a lack of predators, which include many species of fish, controlling their populations.

But aside from the huge environmental costs associated with overfishing tuna, there are serious social costs. Tuna migrate across the Pacific; many island nations have relied on these magnificent tuna stocks to survive. Not only are these small island nations more vulnerable to the effects of climate change, they are increasingly at risk of food insecurity as their resources get plundered by other countries. Do you know where your tuna comes from? To find out more click on the following SMH article: 'Fish fight crucial to survival of islanders'.