There’s been a huge increase in the Pacific Bluefin Tuna catch this year in southeastern Taiwan – more than four times the number caught last year. That’s according to the Xingang District Fisherman’s Association in Taitung County.
The association says that fishing boats have already brought in 80 of the massive fish this year. By comparison, they only brought in 20 during the same period last year.
Pacific Bluefin Tuna can reach a length of three meters and weight up to 450kg. Live fish can fetch up to NT$500 (nearly US$17) per kilo.
The fishing association says that one boat caught eight Bluefin Tuna on Tuesday alone.
Conservationists call the massive tuna the “tigers of the sea”. They say that catching them disrupts the local marine ecology.