Tell Japan to Join a Ban on Bluefin Tuna

The Atlantic Bluefin Tuna is on its way to extinction. The greatly overfished species is collected at four times the legal limit, and the fish are collected from fisheries before they are old enough to reproduce, making for a very unsustainable, but unfortunately very lucrative, fishing industry.

The UN's Convention on International Trade in Endgangered Species of Flora and Fuana (CITES) will meet in March 2010 to propose a formal ban on the international trade of this coveted fish, in an attempt to conserve this declining species. However, Japan, where the bluefin tuna is used in a pricey sashimi delicacy and where 80% of Mediterranean bluefin tuna is consumed, says that even if this ban is enacted, they will ignore it.

In order for the ban to pass, CITES will need 2/3 approval from the 175 member countries. This ban could be an important step in the conservation of the bluefin tuna -- once a species is added to the CITES list they are not traditionally removed -- but Japan is a significant part of the bluefine tuna market and it's rejection of this ban will have a huge impact on the future of the species.

Tell the Prime Minister of Japan to be environmentally responsible and comply with any ban on the international trade of bluefin tuna.