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at Pew Research Centre, Susan Lieberman: ‘Only a zero catch limit could have maximised

the chances that Atlantic bluefin tuna could recover to the point where the fishery could exist

in the future’ (in Pope 2009, para. 5). Reporting on the Convention of International Trade in

Endangered Species (CITES) meeting to put bluefin tuna on the CITES list, The Irish Times

references the Greenpeace campaigner Oliver Knowles who said that ‘[t]he abject failure of

governments here at CITES to protect Atlantic bluefin tuna spells disaster for its future and

sets the species on a pathway to extinction’ (in McDonald 2010, para. 3). The problem of

bluefin was widely framed as a fish on the edge of extinction, as portrayed in news headlines

such as ‘Save Atlantic Tuna’ (Radford 2005), ‘To Save or Savor? It’s Decision Time for

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna’ (2008) and ‘Bluefin Tuna on Brink of Dying Out’ (2009).

Overfishing, mismanagement and the Japanese appetite for sushi were identified as causing

this situation. The Independent warned that ‘JAPAN’S INSATIABLE [original emphasis]

appetite for sushi has spawned a booming business of tuna-fattening throughout the

Mediterranean that is pushing the mighty Atlantic bluefin tuna to the brink of extinction,

conservationists have warned’ (Nash 2002, para. 1). When in 2003 there was a drastic drop in

tuna at the Favignana tonnara, the Italian national newspaper La Reppublica noted that blame

lay with Japanese factory ships which ‘scoop up everything out of the sea using sonars and

working 24 hours a day in shifts. This is not fishing, it is a factory production line and after a

quarter of a century it has left the Mediterranean impoverished’ (in Owen 2003, para. 9).

Tuna as welfare: animal rights advocates concern

Although attention towards ecological aspects of fisheries has not resulted in a widespread

interest in fish welfare (Wadiwel 2015), tuna of all kinds and their capture methods have

nonetheless raised concerns amongst animal rights groups. News media has also helped to

position the capture of tuna as an animal cruelty issue. Such issues are also supported by

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