Bluefin Tuna Trade Ban Grows

Bluefin Tuna is beloved by sushi fans in Japan and around the world.  It is a fish that is currently being harvested at an alarming rate. Thanks to 4 decades of over fishing, it has been driven to just 3% of its 1960 or pre-long lining abundance – a decline of 97%. The species in the greatest danger of slipping into extinction is the western north Atlantic population (stock) of bluefin tuna.  Bluefin tuna is found throughout the western and eastern parts of the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico.  The largest bluefin tuna ever caught weighed 748 lbs, and they can easily exceed 10 feet in length.  Sports fisherman also seeks the thrill of catching bluefin tuna.  The country of Monaco has proposed protecting bluefin tuna by listing it under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).  Monaco’s proposal has drawn opposition from neighboring countries in the Mediterranean region. The European Union has come close to supporting that move, but fishing nations Spain, Italy, France, Cyprus, Greece and Malta last September voiced their opposition.  Now France and Italy have indicated that they are willing to support the ban. France will support a ban on global trade in bluefin tuna, but in exchange wants to be granted an exclusive fishing zone for line-caught tuna as well as aid to retrain laid-off fishermen. France’s policy change could be decisive at the next CITES meeting in Qatar in March, after Italy already has indicated that it would back a ban.  Even if the EU ends up protecting bluefin tuna from being harvested, the US, Canada, and Japan need to join the ban to allow bluefin tuna to recover.  The US has considered placing bluefin tuna on the endangered species list, but fishery interests have blocked that action from taking place.  Japan has no interest in such a ban since their primary interest is to support a national culinary taste for bluefin tuna.  Allowing a threatened species to survive and thrive means that some day these interests will be able to fish again.  It’s a short-term inconvenience for maintaining the long-term existence of a vital species.

Photo: Bluefin Tuna     Photo courtesy: Greenpeace