blinding me with science

A new study in this week’s Science finds that the two distinct Atlantic bluefin tuna populations – those spawned in the Gulf of Mexico and those spawned in the Mediterranean Sea – meet during their juvenile years in the Atlantic before returning to their respective natal homes to reproduce.

In addition to being fascinating (the authors studied isotopes found in juvenile tuna ear bones used for balance, called otoliths, as they contain chemical markers delineating water composition), the study underscored a very important point about bluefin tuna conservation.

While there are two distinct spawning grounds, the tuna intermingle – meaning that U.S. fisheries may actually be catching eastern, Mediterranean tuna, and vice versa.

Why does this matter?