The international commission responsible for the survival of the bluefin tuna failed on Saturday to enact a needed moratorium, provoking condemnation from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and from conservation groups. The inadequate quotas set by the commission in a Paris meeting are simply not sufficient to protect the remaining fish, so we face another year of overfishing.
Bluefins are caught off Long Island, although the stocks are most stressed in the Mediterranean, where fraud and illegal fishing are a problem. We should all discourage local bluefin fishing, stop eating bluefin, and as socially responsibility consumers support restaurants and retailers that have stopped selling bluefin tuna.
Unfortunately, these will be only symbolic gestures since 80% of the catch is sent to Japan, where it is prized for its belly flesh, and where a single large tuna can sell for as much as $180,00. But we must all do something to prevent this spectacular creature from being hunted to extinction.