Industrial fisheries have reversed the carbon sequestration by tuna carcasses into emissions.

To limit climate warming to 2°C above preindustrial levels, most economic sectors will need a rapid transformation toward a net zero emission of CO2 . Tuna fisheries is a key food production sector that burns fossil fuel to operate but also reduces the deadfall of large-bodied fish so the capacity of this natural carbon pump to deep sea. Yet, the carbon balance of tuna populations, so the net difference between CO2 emission due to industrial exploitation and CO2 sequestration by fish deadfall after natural mortality, is still unknown. Here, by considering the dynamics of two main contrasting tuna species (Katsuwonus pelamis and Thunnus obesus) across the Pacific since the 1980s, we show that most tuna populations became CO2 sources instead of remaining natural sinks. Without considering the supply chain, the main factors associated with this shift are exploitation rate, transshipment intensity, fuel consumption, and climate change. Our study urges for a better global ocean stewardship, by curbing subsidies and limiting transshipment in remote international waters, to quickly rebuild most pelagic fish stocks above their target management reference points and reactivate a neglected carbon pump toward the deep sea as an additional Nature Climate Solution in our portfolio. Even if this potential carbon sequestration by surface unit may appear low compared to that of coastal ecosystems or tropical forests, the ocean covers a vast area and the sinking biomass of dead vertebrates can sequester carbon for around 1000 years in the deep sea. We also highlight the multiple co-benefits and trade-offs from engaging the industrial fisheries sector with carbon neutrality.

A model of loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) habitat and movement in the oceanic North Pacific.

Habitat preferences for juvenile loggerhead turtles in the North Pacific were investigated with data from two several-year long tagging programs, using 224 satellite transmitters deployed on wild and captive-reared turtles. Animals ranged between 23 and 81 cm in straight carapace length. Tracks were used to investigate changes in temperature preferences and speed of the animals with size. Average sea surface temperatures along the tracks ranged from 18 to 23 °C. Bigger turtles generally experienced larger temperature ranges and were encountered in warmer surface waters. Seasonal differences between small and big turtles suggest that the larger ones dive deeper than the mixed layer and subsequently target warmer surface waters to rewarm. Average swimming speeds were under 1 km/h and increased with size for turtles bigger than 30 cm. However, when expressed in body lengths per second (bl s(-1)), smaller turtles showed much higher swimming speeds (>1 bl s (-1) ) than bigger ones (0.5 bl s(-1)). Temperature and speed values at size estimated from the tracks were used to parameterize a habitat-based Eulerian model to predict areas of highest probability of presence in the North Pacific. The model-generated habitat index generally matched the tracks closely, capturing the north-south movements of tracked animals, but the model failed to replicate observed east-west movements, suggesting temperature and foraging preferences are not the only factors driving large-scale loggerhead movements. Model outputs could inform potential bycatch reduction strategies.

Shifting from marine reserves to maritime zoning for conservation of Pacific bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus).

Over 50% of the total bigeye tuna (BET) landed in the Western Central Pacific Ocean is caught incidentally in the purse seine fishery and sold for canning at prices less than US$2/kg. The remainder is landed in longline fisheries directed at BET and sold as fresh or frozen tuna at prices greater than US$10/kg. The combined fishing mortality by all gears will soon reduce the BET biomass in the Pacific Ocean to less than that capable of producing maximum sustainable yield. Closure of the high-seas enclaves in 2009 was hailed as a conservation measure, but was not scientifically evaluated before implementation and appears to have had no beneficial effect on the BET stock. A spatially explicit age-structured ecosystem model, SEAPODYM, is used to simulate alternative area-based fishery management policies to conserve bigeye tuna in the Western Central Pacific Ocean. Closing the high-seas enclaves to purse seine fishing has negligible effect on the BET biomass. Fishery management policies that control mortality on both juveniles and adults, through prohibition of fish aggregation devices in the purse seine fishery and restrictions on longline fishing in spawning areas, are the most efficient conservation policies. Large-scale benefits from bigeye conservation measures will become apparent only in the 2030s, assuming timely implementation and minimal effects of climate change.

Clustering due to Acceleration in the Response to Population Gradient: A Simple Self-Organization Model.

We explore the phenomenon of animal self-organization due to autotaxis, that is, the movement of individuals induced by their own density gradient. There is natural evidence that clustering occurs as a result of the interplay between random and directed movements of individuals due to mutual attraction and repulsion. Classically, it is assumed that taxis velocity is determined by the density gradient of some stimulus. However, it is known that partial differential equation (PDE) diffusion-advection models that rest on this assumption cannot give a realistic representation of a stationary or moving cohesive group of individuals with a uniform interior density and sharp edges. Pioneering work by Okubo and coworkers suggests that the acceleration of individuals (rather than their velocity directly) is proportional to the population density gradient. A PDE model resting on this finding was constructed and investigated. The model demonstrates the formation of steady heterogeneous structures of the required shape. This feature can be interpreted as dynamic self-organization, like fish shoaling or insect swarming. This model is the first to achieve this result while considering an autonomous population in a simple PDE framework. Analytical and numerical studies show that the link between the acceleration and the density gradient is crucial for the appearance of clusters.