The Japanese government is increasing its funding to study the commercial farming of bluefin tuna from hatchlings, because the current research is progressing too slowly.
The government wants to make the project economically viable and plans to build a research facility in southern Japan to develop farming technologies. Currently, scientists and companies have been trying to raise bluefin tuna from the hatching phase, but they are unable to sufficiently control water temperatures so there is not a stable supply of eggs for a commercial endeavor.
The research stems from the concern that strong demand for bluefin tuna is taking its toll on the tuna population. Overharvesting of juveniles – where baby bluefin are caught at sea and then transferred to pens until they mature – is also a concern as farmers supply nearly 60% of the bluefin tuna eaten by Japanese consumers.