Another Step Down the Long Path to Save Bluefin Tuna

Last summer, before I started with NRDC, I asked my boss, Sarah Chasis, to recommend a good book to introduce me to some of the issues that I would tackle in my new position.  She recommended Carl Safina’s Song for the Blue Ocean, which is a must-read for anyone, whether you are a fish person or not.  It is an incredibly well-written book and I sped through it in a matter of days.  The entire first section of the book is devoted to bluefin tuna, and with masterful skill, Dr. Safina teaches the reader about this exceptional fish, and the various pressures that have led to their decline.  I wrongly assumed that because the book was written in 1997, that the US and other nations had likely taken the steps to halt what Dr. Safina calls “the great buffalo hunt of the sea” in the ensuing years.  I have to admit I was shocked when I stopped in at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and learned through their excellent exhibit that bluefin tuna are still very much in peril.

However, yesterday we received the good news that the United States will support the Monaco proposal to list bluefin tuna under Appendix 1 of the CITES convention, which bans international trade of endangered species.  The backing of the Monaco proposal by the U.S. adds significant momentum to the proposal, which will be decided later this month at the CITES Convention meeting in Qatar.  NRDC applauds this important step by the Obama Administration, which was taken with the support of thirty-four members of the House of Representatives.

However, a listing is still uncertain, and Japan is already on record defying any trade ban as they continue to net record high sales of the fish at market. 

So, in addition to supporting the CITES listing, the U.S. should abandon its proposal to loosen restrictions on Atlantic bluefin catch off our shores (the fish has become so rare that U.S. fishermen have been unable to catch the full quota assigned to them under international treaty).  Finally, we need to stop allowing the catch of Atlantic bluefin in their spawning area in the Gulf of Mexico, the only known spawning site this side of the Atlantic.

These steps, taken together, could mean that bluefin tuna, at very long last, may finally be given the opportunity to turn the corner towards recovery.