In early September, the European Commission backed an effort under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to suspend international trade in bluefin tuna from the Atlantic and Mediterranean. Specifically, the Commission voted to co-sponsor a resolution a proposal by Monaco to list Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin on appendix I of CITES.Of the three appendices to CITES, appendix I imposes the tightest obligations on signatories. Here's how appendix I is described on the CITES site:
Appendix I lists species that are the most endangered among CITES-listed animals and plants (see Article II, paragraph 1 of the Convention). They are threatened with extinction and CITES prohibits international trade in specimens of these species except when the purpose of the import is not commercial (see Article III), for instance for scientific research.In catching up on my e-mail recently, I came across this announcement from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service:
WASHINGTON, DC - Today [14 October], Tom Strickland, Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, announced that the United States supports a proposal submitted by the principality of Monaco to list the Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) in Appendix I of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES). CITES Appendix-I listing affords a species stringent protection and prohibits all international commercial trade. The fifteenth regular meeting of the CITES parties is scheduled for March 13-24, 2010 in Doha, Qatar (CoP15). Strickland will lead the United States' delegation to CoP15, on behalf of the U.S. government (news release from FWS).That's very good news. The Monterey Bay Aquarium sums the situation up bluntly: "Bluefin tuna are severely overfished in all oceans."
Please remember that the next time you're ordering sushi.
Avoid bluefin tuna--they're severely overfished and fishing gear used to catch them entangle sea turtles, seabirds and sharks and endanger their populations.
Bluefin tuna provide the world's most valuable sushi and the high demand for this fish has taken its toll. The Atlantic population has declined by nearly 90% since the 1970s. Bluefin are slow to mature and, unfortunately, many young fishes are caught before they have the chance to reproduce.
Image of a northern bluefin tuna from Wikipedia.
Big bluefins used to be a spectacular sight each summer along the coast of Massachusetts. It was common to see schools of half-ton bluefins driving bait fish to the surface in masses so dense that one man with a dip net could fill a big dory with bait fish in minutes. We often saw ten-foot tuna by the score, glinting silvery blue as they jumped and smacked the water broadside to keep prey balled.
After the Japanese buy-boats came along, bluefins were worth a fortune. Within ten years a big one was worth $10,000. People went crazy. It was like gold fever. And the scarcer tuna got, the higher prices went. By 1992 the Japanese were reportedly paying $55 a pound. It was said that a big fish in prime condition could fetch $50,000 right over the rail. More recently (early 2001) I heard that a 400-pound bluefin had netted the fisherman $64,000. That's $160 a pound.
I'm now updating my files so that I can publish another of my Nature Vignettes in Posterous, Scribd, et al.