YELLOW FIN TUNA BREEDING SITE

There has been an ongoing dispute over the undersea mining in the sea between the North Coast and New Ireland.

At the same time, there is a dispute over pollution from RamuNico that has killed fish along the coast.

But one area overlooked is the existence of a world yellow fin tuna breeding site. The tuna travel the Pacific in anti-clock wise direction and come to breed in the ocean to the north of Wewak and south of New Ireland. It has been called the Magadus Square.

The breeding site exists because of the Sepik and Ramu Rivers that bring nutrients down for the baby tuna that come into the coast to feed.

The question arises as to whether the breeding site is being destroyed by poisons from the Frieda River mine that empties into the Sepik River and the effluent from Ramu Nico down the coast near Madang.

The yellow fin tuna breeding grounds are a world heritage site.