The United States government announced last week that it supports a proposal 
by Monaco to prohibit the trade of Atlantic bluefin tuna. This announcement comes just before a meeting of CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, will bring 175 countries’ representatives to Qatar to discuss bluefin tuna and other endangered species. Tom Strickland of the Interior Department will lead the US delegation. Bluefin is so highly prized, one fish sold for a record price of $175,000 in Tokyo in 2001. The European Union will soon decide if it will back the proposal, while Japan and China oppose trade restrictions.
All Atlantic bluefin tuna populations have declined more than 70% in the past 50 years. The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas governs the fishing quotas and is in charge of preventing illegal fishing, however, with such large population declines it is evident that greater restrictions need to be imposed.
For more information see the Washington Post article and the CITES website.
To encourage the U.S. government to support the CITIES listing for bluefin tuna, click here for an online sign-on opportunity.
