Bluefin tuna is the great money fish of the Atlantic, but overfishing by the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea threatens to cause a complete collapse of the stock. The United States should take the lead in stopping international trade of this fish.
Eighty percent of the catch of Atlantic bluefin tuna goes to Japan, where it is prized for sushi. Recently, one fish sold for $177,000 at a Japanese auction. The two main options for keeping the catch at a sustainable level include the current approach – a system of annual quotas set by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas – and a proposed ban on international sales of the bluefin as an endangered species.
Conservation advocates say Mediterranean fishermen have routinely exceeded the quotas with impunity. They favor a ban on international sales to drive down the value of the fish and give the species a chance to rebound over five to 10 years. Scientists say current numbers of the fish are less than 20 percent of what they were in the 1970s.