Demand Obama Stop Eating Bluefin Tuna
On a recent visit to Japan, President Barack Obama dined at a famous Tokyo sushi restaurant known for serving one of the priciest and most endangered fish on earth: bluefin tuna.
Bluefin tuna can grow up to 9 feet long and tip the scales at 1,000 pounds. These top ocean predators can swim as fast as 50 mph per hour, but overfishing to satisfy demand for luxury sushi has wreaked havoc on their populations. Pacific bluefin tuna (the kind fished in Japan) have declined 94 percent because of overfishing.
Without a massive reduction of bluefin tuna fishing, these extraordinary ocean giants may soon disappear.
Hold Obama responsible for his actions patronizing a restaurant that serves endangered bluefin tuna. Demand a statement that he'll stop eating bluefin tuna and ask the Japanese prime minister to do the same.
Dear President Obama,
High demand for luxury bluefin tuna sushi threatens to wipe out this iconic ocean animal. Your administration supported a ban on international trade in 2010 of bluefin tuna, only to be defeated in part because of pressure from the Japanese sushi industry.
[Your comment will be added here]
We understand that you ate with the Japanese prime minister in a luxury restaurant that serves endangered bluefin tuna. This provides an excellent opportunity for you to set the record straight: To avoid extinction, the world must stop eating bluefin tuna.
We respectfully urge you to change your personal choices to be consistent with your administration's policy advice and stop eating bluefin tuna. We also hope you will continue to push for international reductions in bluefin tuna fishing and ask Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to help.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
