As I reported a few weeks ago, the bluefin tuna may be listed as an endangered species at the next meeting of CITES in a few weeks.

The US government is now officially supporting Monaco’s proposal to ban the trade of bluefin tuna in an effort to save the species from extinction, as announced by the assistant Secretary of the Interior Tom Strickland:

“[In] light of the serious compliance problems that have plagued the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean fishery and the fact that the 2010 quota level adopted by ICCAT is not as low as we believe is needed, the United States continues to have serious concerns about the long-term viability of either the fish or the fishery,” said Strickland.

Bluefin Tuna at Auction at the Tsukiji Fish Market, Tokyo. Source: Flickr user stevecadman.

Support for the ban has also come from the U.N., which has said that the bluefin meets the endangered species criteria. The European Commission has recommended that the EU support the ban, though no firm decision has been made. Powerful EU countries such as France and Spain have said that they would support the proposal but are asking for a 12 month delay in the ban to allow for more scientific information from ICCAT.

While the ban would only apply to international commercial trade of bluefin (domestic catch and sale would still be allowed), it would still make many of the commercial tuna boats unprofitable and force them to give up, according to Carl Safina, who directs the Blue Ocean Institute.

Bluefin tuna are prized fish that command stellar prices worldwide, mainly in Japan. Japan consumes 80% of the world’s bluefin tuna, and the government is vehemently opposed to the proposed ban in bluefin trade. The Japanese top fisheries negotiator said that were the bluefin to be listed as endangered, Japan would ignore the ban and leave its market open to continued imports.

Japan would be wise to support the ban, as if drastic measures to halt the rampant overfishing of the bluefin in the Atlantic are not taken, the fish would likely disappear from sushi menus in a few years anyway. Only then, it would permanent.

See also: Richard Ellis: Q & A